Jcollard/add vagrantfile

[jcollard]

I created a Vagrant development environment for this project.

It installs the necessary dependencies in a VM, sets up file synch, and port forwarding.

[jcollard]

I'd recommend giving it a try at some point. It is a widely used tool that provides utility for sand boxing development environments. I have found it particularly useful when working on projects for many different clients and when working in multi-person projects.

Benefits of using Vagrant / providing a Vagrant environment for collaborators:

• Easy to have your development environment mimic your production environment

• Isolated development environment won't interfere with other projects (e.g. multiple versions of python / ruby / java / apache / etc).

• New developers can start working on the project immediately, on any OS, without the need to install specific gems, a specific version of node, a specific version of npm, specific libraries dependent on the project dependencies. For example, on this project, the following libraries are required to be installed ruby ruby-dev cmake build-essential zlib1g-dev to be able to build the project.

• Makes it easier to provide support when someone raises an Issue by being able to replicate the exact environment of the user.

[lourinaldi]

This is something I wish I'd had when I was working to convert the environment over from Gumby. I'm in favor of it. 👍

[treznick]

👍