ElementaryOS, Netbeans 8 and that smexy new Terminal

So, I downloaded the Netbeans 8 which still in beta but I like it! Some of the new things I like are:

1. The new smexy Terminal allowing me to run bower, grunt, yeoman commands without opening a separate Terminal - A BIG DEAL TO ME!
2. New themes allowing for easier-on-the-eyes coding - ie. Less eye strain due to glare
3. Better code hinting to JavaScript libs - although I only tried AngularJS
4. Cordova or PhoneGap support

Now just for icing on the cake, I'm been running around with ElementaryOS which I advise people to try out especially that Microsoft was really really killing WindowsXP and you can't stand Windows 8. ElementaryOS is just a sweet mod to Ubuntu/Debian so it's pretty easy to install and use. And about that icing on the cake, Netbeans 8 "seems" to boot up and run faster on this relatively old Core2Duo 2GB machine. When I was running Win7 on it, it kinda felt sluggish.

Some tips if you're new to Netbeans and you're doing web development:

1. Install the Emmet and Explore-from-here plugins
2. Print out the Keyboard Shortcuts - Try out the Ctrl+Tab to navigate between view

Keep on coding.

Since ElementaryOS, I needed an alternative to SQL Server Manager

I've had ElementaryOS running on my office PC since November last year and I've enjoyed it immensely. There's nothing like trolling Mac users thinking their desktop environment is unique.

But since I'm on, by all accounts, a linux box how do I access the database and let's face it, most days in an office we devs don't write a lick of code but instead doing queries, mining data for reports. Special kind of reports. Sounds familiar? And this is where I needed an alternative to SQL Server Manager since my company is using SQL SERVER. Enter DBeaver.

DBeaver is billed as a free universal database manager. Although, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of SQL Server Manager it's got enough that I get my job done and it's free. Let me repeat that: Free.

To install this, we're gonna go the apt-get route:

$ wget -c http://dbeaver.jkiss.org/files/dbeaver_2.3.5_amd64.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i dbeaver_2.3.5_amd64.deb
$ sudo apt-get install -f

I'm install the 64-bit version.

For the purist, you could always download the tarball and install it from the source.

$ wget -c http://dbeaver.jkiss.org/files/dbeaver-2.3.5-linux.gtk.x86_64.zip
$ tar xvf dbeaver-2.3.5-linux.gtk.x86_64.zip
$ make install

After the install what's left is to download the drivers which you can do in dbeaver.