editor: TextMate
http://macromates.com/
Language: Ruby
http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/ (code is free and included on x-tools dev install)
Framework: Rails
http://rubyonrails.com/ (also included in the web dev).
Browser: Firefox 2
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ (the greatest web browser ever wrought by mortal hands. I can't believe I'm the first to post this!)
HTML, JS, CSS debugging and validation:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843
versioning: subversion
http://subversion.tigris.org/project_packages.html (if you install it with apt-get, make sure to include the --with-ssl option).
ftp: cyberduck
http://cyberduck.ch/ (this is a perfect example of an application that NAILED the Mac Way in its design philosophy) (edit: for
Does anyone have another suggestion of a great FTP program that comes with a built in text-editor (doesn't have to be free, just reasonable)
. Cyberduck leaves you with no compromises in your editor. In cyberduck, edit your preferences to link to your favorite editor. Then, in the cyberduck file browser, cmd-k or rgtclick->edit with-> will seamlessly allow you to "edit in place" with your favored editor. It's fabulous)
This ware I've linked, combined with the optional developer's toolkit install on the OS CD, sets up a completely functional web development environment with versioning and a versioning server, a database (Mac OS ships with SQLite 3 working out of the box, and Rails is preconfigured to connect to an SQLite database - not a single line needs to be configured), a web server, a truly fine coding environment in TextMate, and a truly fine language and framework in Ruby and Rails, respectively.
(Rails includes a web server which is ok for single person development, but very slow. Mongrel is better and is ported for darwin - you can find out about that if you need it, and if you're looking here, you probably either don't need it, or already have it)
This is why I switched to Mac last year: Mac has all the goods and none of the hassle. There is no compromise here, this is the best of the best.