Cloud9, part 3.

More work with Cloud9. I did not intend to write multiple posts. Yet here I am.

I'm getting more impressed with Cloud9 (the proper spelling does not have a space) and I am getting more impressed with Python. (Cloud9 lets one use Python, Javascript, Ruby, or plain HTML/CSS.)

My project is in Python, and this weekend I was struggling with a problem in the webapp2 framework. The problem was not in the framework, but in my use of it. Having the source for the webapp2 framework and the Paste and WebOb packages made it possible for me to find my mistake and fix it. Such investigation would not have been possible with a language like C+ or Java.

Python's debugger was not helpful in tracking down this problem. It may be due to my unfamiliarity with 'pdb', or it may be caused by the use of multiple threads. I had to fall back to 'debug by printf()' to find my problem. Once I saw the actual values of certain variables, I knew the solution.

I'm getting familiar with Cloud9. It is an IDE that runs in the browser, which means I can access it from anywhere. That's a nice feature; I don't want to drag my files around with me. (It also allows for better collaboration among team members, a feature I have yet to try.)

Cloud9 copies a lot of the features from regular, PC-based IDEs, but it has its own style. I find it easier to use than Eclipse, which I have tried to use several times. Cloud9 sits on top of Linux, and it provides bash and terminal windows to your virtual machine. Anything you cannot do in the IDE you can do in a terminal -- but I've resorted to it only once or twice.