Is 2 GB with SSD work for programming ?

[Runicer156]

Now i consider between MBA 13" and MBP 13"

1.Java,PHP,python,C++ with some IDE like netbean,Xcode
2.Database with ibm db2
3.No playing game,watching movie,Photoshop,Editing movie
4.Carry out everyday

any idea ?

 

[cambookpro]

If you do get the MBA, get the 4GB RAM as you can't upgrade it.

 

[Ca$hflow]

If you do get the MBA, get the 4GB RAM as you can't upgrade it.

+1 as the ram is soldered on the board.

 

[Lonectzn]

Get the 4GB, seriously. Less is just unacceptable. I'm also a programmer, dealing with Eclipse and Android. There's no way I'd put up with 2gb.

Dumping only 2GB into their base models while charging unrealistic upgrade fees is just another example of Apple pretending to be price competitive. I stick with their laptops because the build quality is more important to me than price, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about their sneaky pricing structure.

 

[hehe299792458]

Get the 4GB, seriously. Less is just unacceptable. I'm also a programmer, dealing with Eclipse and Android. There's no way I'd put up with 2gb.

Dumping only 2GB into their base models while charging unrealistic upgrade fees is just another example of Apple pretending to be price competitive. I stick with their laptops because the build quality is more important to me than price, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about their sneaky pricing structure.

Seconded

 

[lucashungaro]

2 GB is enough for most web development with languages like Ruby, Python and PHP (although 4 Gb wouldn't hurt). But to use Java + Eclipse, 4 GB is a must.

I'm a developer and work with Ruby and Objective-C on an Ultimate 13'' and it's awesome. Fast, beautiful and lightweight.

 

[iSee]

MBA easily has to horsepower to run the development tools.

A few things to think about:

13" is OK for on-to-go development, but I prefer a somewhat larger screen. Ideally you'd have an external monitor for long and involved development sessions. That said, you will do fine if you get used working with one window in front at a time (get used to the keyboard shortcuts for switching between windows).

Depending on what you are doing, it can be incredibly useful to run VMs. E.g, for hosting your web server and/or database or for creating various environments to debugging and testing. VMs require RAM and, if you want to keep them around, disk space. 4GB RAM and an SSD are fine for storing and hosting a couple of fairly lightweight VMs. If you think you might get big into VMs in a big way then you'd want to get the MBP where the RAM can be upgraded and the drive an be upgraded more easily and more cheaply.

 

[lucidmedia]

I agree that 4gb is the way to go today...

however, I used my rev. B 2GB/SSD for two years (using eclipse, etc) and was quite happy with it..

B

 

[lucashungaro]

That said, you will do fine if you get used working with one window in front at a time (get used to the keyboard shortcuts for switching between windows).

I used to work with a big external display but not anymore. With the 1440x900 resolution plus Breeze and Exposé/Spaces, you get a really nice screen area to work.

Not saying it's better or worse. It's just a way to get good screen real estate if you don't have a big display.

 

[Beau10]

At work I have a 2 x quad extreme 3.33 w/ 8 gigs, doing windows dev for a large medical devices corp where at any given time may have to run multiple copies of Visual Studio, a db server, application server, multiple virtual machines simulating inventory cabinets, source control, and bug tracker.

At home my main computer is now a base 11" MBA, primarily used for hobbyist dev/learning. It seems absolutely fine, but I don't do Java/Eclispe, right now primarily RoR, scheme, and iOS. I'm usually in VIM or XCode with some web pages open utilizing 2 or 3 spaces at a time, and regularly have 500mb to a gig free. Soon I'll be playing around with JVM languages such as Scala and Clojure.

Normally I'd agree on getting 4gb without a second thought, but as someone mentioned above Apple's upgrade scheme here is a bit out of whack. I decided to see if it's really necessary and it surprisingly hasn't been for my usage. I guess I wonder if you guys saying 4gigs is a must have instrumented this constraint, and what exactly were you running? RE: comments about "you can't upgrade it..." well sure, but if it truly is a problem resale on Macs is fantastic. You're not marrying the machine. If it's _sorta_ a problem then you're in an interesting situation where maybe you can learn to manage constraints and streamline your workflow, which are hallmarks of being a great engineer. It might be a worthwhile experiment, esp. if you defray the cost by going refurb.