Explore Available Developer Environments

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Explain the differences between types of developer environments.
  
• Identify the best environment for your needs.
  

Developers have several options when it comes to building solutions with Salesforce. Each environment has its own strengths, so let’s cover some examples that you can dive into today. While not necessarily exhaustive, this list covers some of the most popular testing environments for Salesforce and how to use them for best results. Before we dive in, here’s a quick overview of some of the differences between available environments.

Developer Edition Orgs

Developer orgs are a free way to get started building apps in Salesforce. Aside from a few small limitations like data maximums, these orgs are full versions of the Salesforce CRM—a lot like what you’d use with any other version of Salesforce. Anyone can sign up for a Developer Edition and create an org.

Here’s how they work.

1. Go to the Salesforce Developer Portal at https://developer.salesforce.com/signup.
   
2. Complete the signup form.
   
   • Check your email for a link to activate your account
     
   • Once your account is activated, you’re redirected to a handy Salesforce Developer Dashboard.
     
3. Click the New Salesforce Org button.
   
4. Fill out the form to create your new Developer org, include the org name, type, and edition.
   
5. Click the Create Org button.
   

There’s no time limit on Developer orgs, but they may have different features available depending on when they were created. That’s because each release of Salesforce adds various fixes and features. So newer orgs benefit from the latest changes. In most cases, your org will probably be up to date. But spin up a new dev org if it’s been a while since you used one to make sure you have all the latest enhancements.

Developer orgs are a great way to:

• Try out Salesforce
  
• Develop your own apps and workflows
  
• Integrate with powerful resources like the Salesforce AppExchange
  
• Test features and functionalities before you purchase them for a production org
  

Trailhead Playground

A Trailhead Playground is a special, limited instance that allows Trailhead users to test their skills by applying them in a virtual copy of Salesforce. In other words, it’s essentially a Developer org with installed packages of data that simulate different situations you might encounter in other environments. What makes Playgrounds unique is that they add some Trailhead-specific functions (like the ability to sync and earn points for badges) to an otherwise-standard Developer org. Users on Trailhead can track their progress, and teams can use the platform to quickly train and upskill with confidence by including practical challenges designed to reflect the real world.

Playgrounds are also great for developers, because they allow you to check your knowledge by going through the same steps you would in a full Salesforce environment. Spin up a Trailhead Playground to:

• Follow along in a Trail.
  
• Complete challenges to earn badges and points.
  
• Familiarize yourself with Salesforce during a learning session.
  

Want to test out a playground? Launch one in the hands-on challenge at the end of this unit! Before we get to that though, let’s cover some other important types of orgs.

Sandboxes

A developer sandbox is a special version of Salesforce that copies your production org and the data used to configure it. This allows you to test in a similar environment to the one you’ll use every day. All sandboxes use a copy of that configuration data, called metadata, to re-create all the setup from your production org. But some may also use standard data, like accounts and contacts, depending on what you need to model in the environment. Because sandboxes copy production environments, they can only be spun up from production environments–even Trailhead Playgrounds and Developer Orgs can’t create sandboxes.

There are several types to choose from, with each using a different amount of data from your production org. While all of these environments help organizations test their ideas, they have different storage limits and capabilities depending on how much data you need to use, how much additional functionality you need for things like quality assurance, and the number of licensed users you need to have access to the sandbox.. The types of sandbox available include:

• Developer sandbox: A Developer sandbox is intended for development and testing in an isolated environment. A Developer sandbox includes a copy of your production org’s configuration (metadata).
  
• Developer Pro sandbox: Pro sandboxes can host larger data sets than a standard Developer sandbox. Use a Developer Pro sandbox to handle more development and quality assurance tasks and for integration testing or user training.
  
• Partial Copy sandbox: This environment includes a copy of your production org’s configuration (metadata) and a sample of your production org’s data as defined by a sandbox template. Use a Partial Copy sandbox for quality assurance tasks such as user acceptance testing, integration testing, and training.
  
• Full sandbox: Full sandboxes are a replica of your production org, including all data, such as object records and attachments, and metadata. Only Full sandboxes support performance testing, load testing, and staging.
  

Your sandbox is a place to work out bugs, pilot process changes, and streamline other updates. That way, you can be confident in any change you make before it gets deployed to production. Check out a sandbox if you’re looking to:

• Test apps and workflows in a copy of your production environment.
  
• Run tasks like quality assurance, training, and staging.
  
• Develop for an existing production org.
  

Scratch Orgs

A scratch org is a deployment of Salesforce that’s designed to be disposable and fully configurable. This allows developers to emulate different Salesforce editions with different features and settings. It’s created with the Salesforce Command Line Interface (CLI), using a Dev Hub, which can be enabled as a feature of a developer or production org. It’s important to note that these orgs don’t copy data, metadata, or users, which allows you to load just the data you want to use for development.

You can share the scratch org configuration file, which determines the org edition, licenses, and features of your scratch org, with other team members, so you have a shared space in which to do your development. Like any org, you can also install packages, which provide synthetic data to test realistic scenarios without risking exposure of personal or company data.

Spinning up a new scratch org is ideal for when you want to:

• Start a new project.
  
• Start a new feature branch.
  
• Test a new feature.
  
• Start automated testing
  
• Perform development tasks directly in an org.
  
• Start from “scratch” with a fresh new org.
  

Choose the Right Environment

As a developer, you may find yourself working in some or all of the development environments covered here. What’s most important when deploying a developer tool is knowing the goal you have in mind. That way, you can choose the most helpful space to explore your innovative ideas.

And, if you need help, you can always find it through the Developer Portal. Happy developing!

Resources

• Salesforce Developer Portal: Scratch Orgs
  
• Salesforce Help: Developer Organization features, new licenses, and updates
  
• Trailhead: Create a Trailhead Playground
  

Ready to Get Hands-On?

To create a new Trailhead Playground, click the name of your org or scroll down to the bottom of this challenge and click Create Playground. Give your playground a name, click Create, and that’s it! Now you have an org that you can use to complete hands-on challenges and projects, and test new features and code.

If you're using Trailhead in a language other than English, make sure that your playground is set to the same language as the hands-on challenge. Otherwise you may run into issues passing challenges.

As long as you launch it every so often, you can use the same Playground for any hands-on challenge or project step by clicking Launch. Your playground opens in a new browser tab or window.

If your playground isn't already open, scroll to the bottom of this page and click Launch to complete the challenge.