I'm curious to see how other SharePoint developers install their dev workstations.
My current setup:
- Desktop with server 2008 (only for Hyper-V, previously used Vista)
- Using Visual Studio 2008 on a local computer to work with dev
- Keep a local copy of the SharePoint DLL for reference, do not install the local SharePoint
- Launch SharePoint in a Server 2003 virtual machine hosted on my local computer.
I design all my changes in SharePoint as a WSP and install them in a virtual machine for testing. I do not run the code in debug mode, but I write a lot of trace statements to see what my code does.
Also, when I make quick changes, I usually don’t reinstall the whole WSP. I simply recompile any DLL that I changed and copy it to the GAC in my SharePoint virtual machine, then reset IIS (usually writing web parts).
I know that it would be easier if I ran SharePoint locally, but I usually work on several projects at a time and don't want something to get in the way.
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