Syncing a site with a local machine?

Question

I do my web development and testing on my laptop running an installation of xampp - I upload things to my host, but I always go through cpanel's file manager to do it. I realize that there's definitely a better way to go about it, but I need to be pointed in the right direction to do so, also other tips on how to manage stuff would be appreciated.

FTP - can I keep my site's stuff synched to a local directory on htdocs so I can keep my site backed up on my computer yet update the site with whatever changes I make locally? Can anyone recommend a good client (preferably free) that I can use to do this?

Database stuff - how do I backup / sync databases in the same way? Ideally I'd like to do the same thing as with my files. Merge / upload whatever I've developed with a click or two. Is this possible? Is this wise?

Any help and advice would be appreciated. :)

Answer 1

I do my development in Eclipse which allows me to combine development and sync via FTP in one environment. It will also tell you if a file changed on the server and allow you to decide whether to override it or not. You can also disable the syncing of certain types of files with pattern matching and use other technologies like WebDAV or SSH to sync (if supported by your host of course).