Running a local test environment allows you to created and debug code at a faster pace than you would by uploading all the time. Besides that it's also much more secure since the test settings are aimed at reporting all errors, while on a live site you want to suppress those errors and store them in a separate file instead of outputting them in the browser.
You can perfectly use other stuff, but what I use works as a charm so why wouldn't you use it?
Download and install wamp
Wamp is a great if you have no idea how to set up a server but you really want one and you don't want to pay a penny. Wamp will automatically install Apache, mysql and php on your system. It comes with some extra stuff like phpmyadmin which is a great interface for a database development. It also has a great debugger (nice for php)
Download and install Netbeans
Netbeans is also free, and it's by far the best text editor I have every worked with. I use the php version of it. The nice thing is that it will give tips and hints while typing, and it's pretty easy to set up the testing environment.
Ones you made a project all you need to do is go to project properties and make sure you have something similar as the following:
Just press <shift>+<F6> (short-cut for tab Run) when editing a file and your browser should start and show what you are doing.
Something to remember though this won't work if you didn't start up your server. And sometimes you might want to use 'Scan for external changes' (under tab Source) in case you added a new version of an image.
You could as well right click the folder and choose refresh.
Happy coding!
Cssfreakie
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