Coding MacBook Air for Automation Testing

[ggibson913]

I have currently an iMac late 2015. Should I wish to learn coding, would a 512 GB base model with 8 GB of ram MacBook Air suffice or would I be better off with a MacBook Pro 13? Not sure as I am a tester not a developer so my coding would be for automated scripts. Sorry I would be developing scripts for iOS as well as Android apps using selenium with appium.

 

[2984839]

Totally a matter of preference. I'd prefer the 16" scissor keyboard MBP, but that's just me. There will be no appreciable performance difference between any of the configurations for that usage.

 

[960design]

I have currently an iMac late 2015. Should I wish to learn coding, would a 512 GB base model with 8 GB of ram MacBook Air suffice or would I be better off with a MacBook Pro 13?

Mac Air 512 with 8GB ram will do perfectly for beginner coding projects. If you have the means (+$180US), I would recommend getting 16GB of RAM to best "future proof" your purchase.

 

[hameleonick]

I would recommend 16gb of ram and 256 gb ssd instead of 512gb. Personally use MB Pro 13 2017 i7 16gb ram and 256 gb ssd, and MB Pro 13 2018 i5 16gb ram and 256 gb ssd. More than enough, better to spend extra money for external portable ssd and keep important data there.

 

[icymountain]

I would recommend 16gb of ram and 256 gb ssd instead of 512gb. Personally use MB Pro 13 2017 i7 16gb ram and 256 gb ssd, and MB Pro 13 2018 i5 16gb ram and 256 gb ssd. More than enough, better to spend extra money for external portable ssd and keep important data there.

Same, I would take extra RAM before extra SSD. First, you will be able to use an external SSD, but you will never be able to work around "not enough RAM". Second, while 8 gb is fine to start coding, depending on where your coding practice leads you, you may need more in the not so distant future; for instance, you may also want to run a VM or a specific rather heavy IDE (like eclipse or Xcode), and then you may feel in two years that 8 gb is a bit tight.

 

[ggibson913]

Thanks for all the advice, trying to update my skill set. Middle aged software tester. The Macbook Air with 512GB of HDD and 16 GB of Ram is 1499. Luckily, Best Buy is having a sale, they have the current Macbook Pro $1799 model for $1649 on sale. For the sake of future proofing I think that is the one I am going to go with even though it is an extra $150 I think it is worth it especially since it has the two extra USB-C ports. I am going to forgo the Apple Care this time and hope that any problems manifest themselves in the first year. I am hoping I don't get burned with Apple switching to their own silicone, but I am fairly confident I can get 5 years out of this one.

 

[CheesePuff]

Thanks for all the advice, trying to update my skill set. Middle aged software tester. The Macbook Air with 512GB of HDD and 16 GB of Ram is 1499. Luckily, Best Buy is having a sale, they have the current Macbook Pro $1799 model for $1649 on sale. For the sake of future proofing I think that is the one I am going to go with even though it is an extra $150 I think it is worth it especially since it has the two extra USB-C ports. I am going to forgo the Apple Care this time and hope that any problems manifest themselves in the first year. I am hoping I don't get burned with Apple switching to their own silicone, but I am fairly confident I can get 5 years out of this one.

Smart decision, much better cooling, better performance, better screen over the Air

 

[ggibson913]

The fact I have 24 months to pay the difference helps as well 😀