There’s No Place Like 127.0.0.1 - OR - How to Use “Cowboy Coding” to Effectively Rack Up Hours of Unbillable Time @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

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Ok… The Important Stuff About Me • Father of two • Husband of One • Packers Fan • WordPress Fanatic • Part of the ServerPress, LLC Team What I Am (aka “disclaimers) • A Public Speaker • A very creative PowerPoint User • An Expert (At Anything) What I Am Not @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

Yosemite Sam says: “NO COWBOY CODING!!!” (ya varmint!) But what IS Cowboy Coding?? @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

W @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer Cowboy Coding is when a developer or group of developers work with minimal process or discipline and typically has more negative connotations than positive. It is most often used as a derogatory term by supporters of software development methodologies. (paraphrased) So what the !@&* does THAT mean? Simply put, and in our context, Cowboy Coding is when you make all of your edits/changes for your website on a live server. According to Wikipedia, Cowboy Coding is when a developer or developers work with minimal process or discipline and typically has more negative connotations than positive. It is most often used as a derogatory term by supporters of software development methodologies. Akeiwo dosk (paraphrased) According to Wikipedia:

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer Advantages of Cowboy Coding • You will see immediate changes to your live site • You will get to spend more time in the office • You’ll have an excuse to get out of that wedding you didn’t want to attend • You’ll also have an excuse to get out of that dinner with the in-laws you’ve been dreading and oh ya . . . • If you weren’t already, you’ll be single before you know it Disadvantages of Cowboy Coding • If you weren’t already, you’ll be single before you know it • You will, at some point in time, screw things up . . . • The time you saved doing it live is going to be more than lost when you screw things up . . . • You will, at some point, lose good will with your clients because you screwed things up . . . • You will lose points with your significant other. Your friends and family will hate you. All because. . . EPICALLY EPICALLY EPICALLY YOU SCREWED THINGS UP . . . EPICALLY! DON’T SCREW THINGS UP EPICALLY! DON’T COWBOY CODE!

In Summary . . . Cowboy Coding is STUPID!!! Offended @easilyoffended MOMMY!!! @marcbenzak of @DesktopServer just called me stupid! #unprofessional #lame #Iamoversensitive @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

Ok – Cowboy Coding is Stupid. You’ve Convinced Me. So… How Can I Be “Not Stupid?” • Create a quick and simple workflow • Work with a local development site • Import & Test active sites on local system • Use a sophisticated text/code editor @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

-Michael Altshuler @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer Advantages of Local Development • You will save a TON of time by working on your local system rather than going through the internet • Privacy from search engines • You minimize risk of screwing up your live site • You are more likely to experiment (build/break/fix) in your local environment • You’ll get to go to that wedding which will make you feel warm and squishy inside • Your significant other will love you long time Disadvantages of Local Development • Additional content (plugins, themes, graphics) cannot be accessed without an internet connection • Certain things such as caching and CDN plugins can cause problems • Demonstrating your site to clients can only be done in person (in general) • You’ll have to go to that wedding that you were hoping to get out of • Dinner with the in-laws is ON! • The kitchen needs cleaning and you now have time to do it! You’ll Be a Rock Star When You Develop Locally! Trust Me. You Will! (have I ever lied to you?)

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer Let’s Talk About Local Development In order to create locally developed WordPress websites, you need the following installed on your system: • Web Server Software • MySQL Database Server • PHP and Perl interpreter • Local Hosts File to translate website names to your localhost IP address • Local file space HIGHLY Recommended: • Good code/text editor (Sublime Text, Coda, Notepad Plus) • Up to date browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer) • Ample hard drive/storage space

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer Let’s Get AMP’d! What is (x)AMP? • Apache: Your Web Server • MySQL: Your Database Server • PHP: Your PHP Interpreter Different AMP Flavors: • LAMP: For Linux Developers • MAMP: For Mac Developers • WAMP: For Windows Developers • XAMPP: Cross-Platform AMP Stack

@MarcBenzak @DesktopServer Let’s Get AMP’d! Different Software for Different Skill Levels • Beginner to Advanced: DesktopServer (using xampp) • Advanced: DesktopServer, WAMP, MAMP & XAMPP • Expert: Vagrant or “Roll Your Own”

Resources (x)AMP Stacks DesktopServer: http://www.serverpress.com MAMP: http://www.mamp.info WAMP: http://www.wampserver.com/en/ Text Editors Sublime Text: http://www.sublimetext.com Coda 2: http://panic.com/coda/ Notepad++: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v6.5.3.html Plugins/Themes Spring Theme: https://github.com/3themes/spring-theme Duplicator: http://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/ My Contact Info: Marc Benzakein http://www.serverpress.com marc@serverpress.com @MarcBenzak @DesktopServer