I am a very visual person. I like to see graphical representations of large sets of data and complex problems, structures, or processes. This includes application databases, so I was immediately drawn to a new Rails plugin, written by Tom ten Thij, called Schema Browser. It’s as easy as pulling it from git, and running a generate command. The screenshot below is from Tom’s mephisto blog and it illustrates the very nice schema graphic produced from the plugin. Installation instructions on Tom’s blog post, Rails schema browser plugin: proof of concept.

As web developers we know all to well the challenges of getting our web sites to look and function the same across browsers. I use Browsershots to grab visual snapshots of a page in multiple browsers, but this doesn’t help test functionality, or view a screen that occurs after a user has caused an event.

There’s no getting around needing to test in multiple browsers. Thankfully, you can do this on your computer fairly easily. I am currently able to test, on my MacBook Pro, with the following browsers:

• Firefox 2 and 3 on Win and Mac
• Safari on Win and Mac
• IE 5.5, 6 and 7 on Win

This gives me a good percentage of the browsers in use out there. I do my Windows testing by running VMWare Fusion, and installing IE 5.5 - 7, Firefox and Safari on there.

You’ll need a little help with running multiple Internet Explorer versions and Firefox versions.

Running Multiple Internet Explorers
To run multiple version of Internet Explorers there is a nice installer to help you out. I upgraded my IE to 7, and then ran this installer, which can install any IEs you want from 3 to 6.

Running Firefox 2 and 3
Chu Yeow has posted a nice tutorial on running Firefox 2 and 3. You first need to create a new Firefox profile to ensure that when you run Firefox 3 it doesn’t overwrite your default profile. The mozilla web site has some information on Managing Your Firefox Profiles. Now you can download and install Firefox three and follow Chu’s instructions for running it. If you are on a Mac, Andy Croll describes how to use AppleScript for easy launching.

Now you have no excuse for not testing in multiple browsers. Happy testing!

Rarely does a day go by, that I do not receive an article in my email or among the many RSS feeds I monitor, that compares various Internet software development tools and frameworks. Inevitability, the comments following the comparison turn into a war of words between the two camps compared. Each believes its framework or tool is the best. What strikes me is that rarely are the project requirements included in the discussion. It always seems to be based on the concept that there is one right framework for everything, and I cannot disagree with that more. Over my thirteen years of developing Internet applications I’ve used Perl, PHP, ASP, Javascript, XML, XSL, and Java (using JSPs, Servlets, Struts, WebWork). Now I’m learning and writing a applications with Ruby on Rails. Though Java has been my focus for the last nine years, I recently changed the title I prefer to use. No longer do I refer to myself as a Java Developer/Architect. Instead, I identify myself as being in the industry of Internet Software Development and Design. While the difference in the terms may seem insignificant, it is actually quite substantial.

There was a time when I believed Java was the only language anyone should use to write Internet software, but eventually I realized you can’t make that claim for any development framework. They all have their pros and they all have their cons. I don’t pick what is latest and greatest, because the latest is never guaranteed to be the greatest. Neither do I ignore the latest in defense of what I currently feel comfortable with. I do choose what fits my personality, what I enjoy working with, and what is best for the project at hand, including the ability to meet very tight deadlines. The key is: matching the language and the framework to the project. Many factors contribute to this selection. Here are some situations and the frameworks I generally use for each.

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