[updated 2009-12-24]

It amazes me how often this simple practice eludes modern software companies.

A sandbox is a setup on your local machine which allows you to:

1. check out software from source control, and
2. build and test changes or additions.

To (2), I should perhaps add “without making a fool of yourself or jeopardizing the fruits of everyone else’s labour”.

Simply put, sandboxes prevent crappier iterations of your build from seeing the light of day. It’s your own little playpen for experimenting until you come up with an iteration that works… you can build your little sandcastles and demolish them and get covered in sand and mud. Nobody cares until you get to the point where you’re handing over your code (preferably back to source control). Continue reading →