Tom Says: Safe code is boring code!
I develop on my laptop, which boots Ubuntu Linux and Windows XP. I develop in Linux (though I used Windows at Tarigma, where my job was to code C# in Visual Studio).
When I used VIM as my primary text editor, it was important that my window manager was WMII, and the way that I managed my terminals was interesting. Now that I have begun using Acme of Plan 9 from User Space, things have gotten simpler. I have preserved the original, VIM- and WMII–specific instructions on their own page.
Nowadays, I open just instances of Acme and Firefox. As before, in Firefox I open the site, the Rails documentation, the Ruby documentation, and any other relevant documentation. Handling Acme is nothing out of the ordinary as far as Acme usage goes, but a quick explanation is in order for the unfamiliar.
When Acme first starts, it has two columns, the left empty, and the right with a directory listing. I don't move them, and use them as you might expect: I open files in the left column and open directories on the right as needed.
I always keep the root directory of the Rails project open and at the top of the right column. I add "rake spec" to the tag line and select it: at work we use rSpec and the associated Rails plugin. Otherwise I would type just "rake".
The first time I middle-click that tag, I move the resulting window to the bottom of the right hand column. When there are test failures, I can right-click the filename and the file is opened to the offending line. I usually middle-click the layout box for the code window to maximize it.
Posted Mar 13, 2007, in the late, late night. Updated updated Aug 06, 2007, in the early morning: Updated to reflect migration from VIM to Acme.