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dtirer@gmail.com's avatar

Which OS are most Laravel Developers Using?

I was curious which OS most Laravel Developers are using for development and why? OSX? Windows? A Linux distro?

We know that Jeffrey and Taylor use Macs.

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87 replies
phildawson's avatar

OSX with Homestead development. LEMP production (Ubuntu/Debian). Windows for playing games after coding.

and why?

I used Windows for ~10 years and Mac ~10 years so far after switching. Windows isn't productive, everything feels like a battle. OSX visually looks ace inside and out, it makes you smile whilst using it. Why wouldn't you? :)

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joleenshook's avatar

Ubuntu 14.04 - LAMP However I also have one app that has a SQL server backend. Sadly I still have to use windows because Adobe has not yet seen the light and made linux versions of AI and PS, and they don't yet run well under Wine, plus i work with a Microsoft oriented shop, so SQL Server Management Studio. And yeah, Windows still mostly rules my gaming.

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dtirer@gmail.com's avatar

Thanks for the replies!

Long time Mac user myself. Though I am quite fascinated by Linux and always wanted to try diving in head-first. But I'm held back because:

  1. I do music production work as well and my Mac with Pro Tools is key.

  2. The usual Adobe stuff....Though I find myself more and more on the backend these days!

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oeb's avatar

Personally, I use linux for almost everything. One of my desktops at home runs windows 10 though (for gaming).

I used to almost exclusively use windows (except for servers), but I switched over a couple of years ago when I stopped needing photoshop for work.

undrwd's avatar

I would recommend OSX . . . developing on windows there are always small obscure problems that always took hours to track down resolve . . . developing on mac everything just works. This is my experience doing Rails and Laravel development on windows then on mac.

sid405's avatar

@undrwd I agree with you. Was helping someone get setup with Glide today on a windows box. Apparently Intervention/Image needs extensions that are not by default present in php. Never hit that snag i neither linux or mac.

Like you say. Little obscure things.

andy's avatar

MacOS 7.3.1 PPOE switcher in the toolbar. And Netscape that I got off an AOL CD that works great as a coffee coaster :)

Amazing how Adobe Fonts that run awesome on NextStep machines can't be ported to that guy's port of Unix ... Oh well :(

robgeorgeuk's avatar

As an ex MS certified Engineer... I use OSX with Homestead and a VM for the odd occasion that I need MS Office and IE. I'm all about the path of least resistance and, whilst not perfect, OSX runs pretty smoothly 99.9% of the time.

dtirer@gmail.com's avatar

For those who use Mac: Besides large projects where you may use a VM, are you still using MAMP for small PHP work? Or are you setting up PHP / MySQL via Homebrew? Or using VM that hosts multiple projects?

spodlogar's avatar

I use MAMP Pro for everything.

and Mac OSX Yosemite is great i would never think of switching to windows.

Polar_Bear's avatar

Hate to prolong ageless Mac vs Windows debate--but I've had the pleasure to use both MAC/PC almost in parallel at home and work for 18+ yrs. Can't think of a single month of the last 200 where I didn't use both. Home/work Windows setups span NT, XP, Vista, 7 and 8-- both home and enterprise versions. Current strong preference for Laravel work remains Mac OS in almost every situation except real world testing of IE browser error workarounds. I use Mac OS X.10.5 on 2009 Mac Pro.

Goldenstat's avatar

Mac osx for me, i use homestead for everything and just route it through my hosts :) I used windows at work but would never use one again by choice

lancebutler2's avatar

I have never been as productive as I was when I was using i3 windows manager on Ubuntu/Arch, but I use a mac now with homestead for adobe and 7 hour battery life. And apps.

jekinney's avatar

Mac and windows. I love Linux but to much of a pain for non native software.

Mac being UNIX a closed source version of Linux they are a lot alike from a power user perspective. Terminal is a huge factor along with ssh etc that cmd line isn't capable of doing.

Are Macs worth the price? No. Power to power and dollar for dollar absolutely not. Though the newer mac minis are competitively priced. Only draw back is the 5400rpm hdd.

bugsysha's avatar

Mac with El Capitan, Mac with Yosemite and Ubuntu 14.04 with i3wm. On all I use Homestead. Was using Puphpet but Homestead is so much faster.

Mattiman's avatar

Mac with Mavericks. AMPPS for many small projects, Homestead for a few others

opheliadesign's avatar

For the past few weeks, I've mostly been sitting on my front porch with a Dell Insipiron 7548 laptop duel booting Windows 10 and Linux Mint 17.2. I've been loving working in Linux, I know it's weird but I still use Homestead - just like how it works.

Inside the house and at my office I have Macs, iMac at home and a Mac mini at work. On all three machines I code in PHPStorm and use Homestead. Lately, Linux Mint has been my primary OS for work.

jtn's avatar

Had several attempts at using Linux (Kubuntu) over the years trying to escape the clutches of MS. Switched to Mac about 5 years ago and haven't looked back. I run Parallels as a VM with Windows 8.1 on my Mac for MS Visual Studio when I need it. For Laravel, Mac with Homestead is a definite winner. I'm with @phildawson, using a Mac makes you smile.

lindstrom's avatar

Win 7 (Cygwin, Homestead to ease dev) on an HP Envy 17" with an external 27". I would go Mac, but no integrated 10 key on Mac laptops is a deal breaker. I do too much work with numbers to go full top row.

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spoon's avatar

I've used Windows from 1998 to 2014 (98, XP, 7) and I loved it.

In 2014, I bought a Macbook Air and I loved it more. Still, I don't think there's much difference in terms of productivity for me, but Mac gives me the "I'm a developer, duh" feeling. :)

Even though I'm not an experienced programmer, here's my setup : Macbook Air (OS X Yosemite) on the left for development, 17" external on the right for documentation. It really helps.

Sometimes I am thinking of getting a large third monitor for IDE** and an external keyboard (a mechanical one like Razer Chroma**), but I give up too quickly.

I use MAMP for development environment (phpMyAdmin & PHP).

** Like this one, you can even use it vertically : http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2312HM-IPS-Monitor/dp/B005LN1JEC

**Razer Chroma : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VRK_bsE6nw

ian_h's avatar

Windows 8.1 for me running Homestead (sometimes puPHPet depending on circumstances / requirements).

At work, Macbook Pro running vagrant / vbox.

Preference? Windows for desktop, Unix for servers. The Mac does nothing for me really other than it mounts NFS shares easily (mainly just frustrates me that some of the keys are in stupid positions (yes I have the PC keymap installed but doesn't change the symbols on the keys itself)).

@spoon I have a 24" and 27" Ultrasharp Dell that does portrait / landscape.. although never used either of them in portrait orientation. The screens themselves though are really good IMO.

I also have a 3 mechanical keyboards.. love the things. Mine are all Cherry G80s.. definitely worth the price.

Cheers..

Ian

jjosephs's avatar

Made the switch from Windows to Ubuntu at the start of the year. I have no need to go back. Everything I need is on Ubuntu and the development experience is much better!

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jekinney's avatar

Knock on wood, but love how this thread states opinions with explanations but nothing derogatory.

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mcprogramming's avatar

I switched to mac and will never turn back. But if you are interested in using linux, you will be when you use Laravel Homestead since that is an Ubuntu vagrant box. So if you ssh into it then it will be a linux terminal that you are using. And I absolutely love it. I couldnt imagine using windows for most of the things needed to use Laravel such as the php artisan commands and composer commands. Seems like a pain in the ass. I recommend bash

opheliadesign's avatar

@jekinney we all know that if you code in Windows you aren't really a developer but that's okay.

JUST KIDDING! LOL ;)

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alenn's avatar

I use Ubuntu for 5-6 years full time, now I don't know how to use Windows :)

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