Building PHP Applications With Macromedia Dreamweaver MX - Hooking Up (
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Our current
development environment consists of a Windows/Linux network, with most developers
developing code on Windows PCs and deploying to Linux-based servers. This kind
of configuration is supported by Dreamweaver MX, as are other permutations and
combinations - so matching the tool to your environment should not be a major
issue.
The first step, obviously, is to get yourself a copy of the tool. Hook yourself
up to a PC with a high-speed connection, log on to
http://www.macromedia.com/software/, pick the appropriate version and platform, take Macromedia's user survey (hey,
nothing comes free anymore) and get yourself a trial copy. This trial copy works
for 30 days, which is more than enough time for you to take the tool through its
paces and decide whether it's worth the price tag.
It's a 49-meg download, so don't try this if you're faint of heart or have a
s-l-o-w connection - instead, order a copy of the Macromedia evaluation kit on
CD-ROM from the Macromedia online store. Sure, it'll take a little longer to get
to you, but it beats watching paint dry while the files download.
Installation is a breeze - click, accept the license terms (make sure you read
them), click a few more times, and you're done!
In case you're wondering what the MX stands for...hey, join the club, because
it seems even Macromedia doesn't know. Here's what their FAQ (
http://www.macromedia.com/software/mx/faq/) has to say on the topic: "The MX moniker is not an acronym and doesn't have
a literal translation. MX designates products that are major new releases and
part of the Macromedia MX product family." Ain't that interesting?
I'm assuming here that the rest of your development box is all set up, with a
Web server (I use Apache,
http://httpd.apache.org/), PHP (
http://www.php.net/) and a database server (MySQL rocks, get it from
http://www.mysql.com/). In case you don't have all these, get yourself set up, and then flip the page
to take Dreamweaver MX for a test drive.
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