Coding/Programming: Macbook Air or Pro?

[BrettK]

So I'm just hoping I can get some info here to help me decide which would be the better purchase for my needs. Long story short I'm opting for a 13 inch Macbook over the 15 inch pro because portability will be important to me. I'll connect up to a bigger screen when at home if need be. But of the 13 inch Macbooks, which would be better suited to my needs?

Right now I'm only learning HTML and CSS, but I will probably move onto Javascript eventually, or PHP or something. Beyond that I may even go into Java. I'm trying to think ahead in terms of hardware though, while keeping affordability in mind. The Air is cheaper than the Pro, but will it be sufficient for learning the above languages on without needing to be replaced in a few years by a more powerful Macbook? If not, the Pro might be my better option. That's what I'm trying to determine, so any help on this would be great, thanks!

(And if this is a stupid question because of my lack of understanding of languages, please be patient in your response to me).

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Also a secondary question for those wanting to answer: if I bought either the Air or Pro and opted for a faster processor/more RAM in the customisation section, would either of those upgrades have much of an impact on the already great battery life these two laptops have?

Thanks again!

 

[BrettK]

Both are pretty expensive to me, but I save money well. I actually completely overlooked the fact that the Air apparently doesn't have a Retina screen though. I know that will a major factor for me, so I guess I'll go with the Pro.

Thanks again!

EDIT: I can see why adding extra RAM would be a good thing to do, but is it worth upgrading the processor from the standard 2.7GHz Dual-core i5 (which is Turbo Boosted up to 3.1GHz) to either the 2.9GHz Dual-core Core i5 (Turbo Boosted up to 3.3GHz) or the 3.1GHz Dual-core Core i7 (Turbo Boosted up to 3.4GHz)? Especially if I eventually use languages that need compiling?

 

[BrettK]

Thank you all for your replies, it's really helping me to feel like I'll be picking up the right Macbook for me.

So based on all that's been said the 13 inch with 16GB ram is the one to choose. As for the processor, stick with the stock i5 or maybe the next i5 upgrade, but don't bother wasting money on the i7 as the performance boost will be minimal for all but the heaviest of programming, correct?

Thanks again!

EDIT: One more thing... I could always buy cheaper external storage at a later time, but how much internal storage would be recommended for the tasks I'll be performing? I was looking at 256GB as 512GB is quite expensive from Apple, and 128GB I'd feel is a bit limited. Good decision?

Thanks again!

 

[BrettK]

Thanks for all the info and replies! If I come across any testing or anything that puts a Macbook under too much strain, hopefully I can just switch to my Windows desktop to deal with it.

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate the help!

 

[BrettK]

If you have a desktop as well you're definitely onto a winner. I leave my desktop switched on most of the time and remote desktop into it from wherever my laptop happens to be if things are running too slowly. That works really, really well.

By "remote desktop" I mean connect to emacs over ssh, but it's much the same result

It's a gaming rig so it should have the extra horsepower should I need it. And I didn't consider doing a "remote desktop" thing, but that's actually a good idea.

Thanks buddy!