Setting up a testing environment

From Joomla! Documentation

You need two main things to set up a testing environment to work with the JoomlaCode SVN to test Joomla!. The first thing you need is a local server environment, the second is an SVN Client.

Local Server Environments

A local server environment is basically a web server that you run on your local computer.

WAMP - (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

For general information on what WAMP is you can check out their Wikipedia entry: WAMP, and you can compare different WAMP software. A good choice for for a local server environment for windows is WampServer they have FAQs and Installation help available on their site.

MAMP - (Macintosh, Apache, Mysql, PHP)

MAMP is a server environment for OS X. MAMP by living-e AG also has FAQs and Installation help at their site.

XAMPP - (Multi OS, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

The XAMPP Project offers server environments for Windows, OS X, Linux and Solaris. You can find FAQs and Installation help available at the project site.

SVN Clients

SVN clients will allow you to keep your testing Joomla! files up to date as changes happen. It will also allow you to test patches easily. Wikipedia has an excellent page with information as to what SVN is and how it is used.

EasyEclipse is a good choice for Linux, OS X and Windows. Nur Aini Rakhmawati has an excellent video tutorial on using JoomlaCode SVN with EasyEclipse.

Another Windows choice is TortiseSVN. It is available for download and there are support manuals and FAQs on their site. Details on how to work with the JoomlaCode repository are located on the Joomla! Developers site.

With these tools you can participate in bug squashing events, test patches and work with the code as it evolves.