That being said, I do wish IIS could read .htaccess files and support mod_rewrite rules (I know it didn’t a year ago). I used a commercial solution on the last PHP site I deployed on IIS, so at least there is a way to do it …

Is there objective data out there which points to the most popular development platform?

And even if there is, how relevant is it. PHP developers are perhaps the most diverse group out there. You have basic hackers just getting things working, you have small/medium sized web-design shops and increasingly you’re getting enterprise oriented development. Each group has very different needs and different goals.

For me, as a largely enterprise focussed PHP dev I think the biggest reason I don’t develop (let alone deploy) on windows is tooling. There are so many tools that come with a basic linux or mac osx install that make a developer’s life easier.

Most low level PHP coders read blogs and material written by ideological or enterprise level developers who like the power and convenience of the *nix tool stack. I think as much as focussing on PHP’s performance, Microsoft need to create a tool stack comparable to what you can find on any Linux install or Mac.

As Rob says above, simple, simple things like rsync and SSH are a ‘mare on windows. Heaven help you if you want to do a simple grep to find a source code file.

It’s these little things that in aggregate make developing in Windows a mega pain. And that’s before you even get to the deployment stage.

My requests for MS at the moment revolve around deployment. Essentially, I want native, reliable SSH command line access that doesn’t use remote desktop connections or a VPN. Working, native rsync would be nice too.

A good start would be getting something like DeltaCopy installable via WPI as it’s really hard to get an IT dept to install anything that isn’t either from a big name PLC or installable via WPI.

Regards,

Rob…