User to use Komodo a lot. It’s not bad, and totally cross-platform. But it’s also pretty cranky sometimes and resource intensive.
Development interface and editor
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Hello all.
I am sorry if this is kind of off-topic.
Can you comment about what GUI interface do you use (if any) for PHP Development? (you or in your company)
Can you comment on what editor do you use for PHP development? (yes i know is a matter of what you like but since I do not use any other that simple notepad looking for better options).
I will explain a little further.
Actually I am running Freebsd 7.3 on a couple of production servers. No problem. I installed the exact same configuration on a vmware machine on my old laptop and everything is running fine. Both configurations have the same packages and everything. That way I can test before putting under productions and could be able to work even without internet connection.
Since I have no previous experience I am using notepad as my simple text editor for php and do ftp the php files to the virtual freebsd machine. I know I can edit directly under the freebsd machine and I have done using ee as my simple editor.
I have developed under other languages but now I need to get a new job and I am working hard to became a more than a novice php developer with mysql.
Anyway, can you give me your advice on what are my best options to have a GUI interface or a good editor. I have been asking friends also. I friend told me to move to mac and use bbedit with a php extension or something like that. Another told me to get anold product for developing web pages that has its own editor and ready for php. The advantage is that has syntax checking and a help included with php syntax uses, examples, etc. ANother told me to use Eclipse and the last one told me to buy a product that the guys from programmer’s paradise that if I am not wrong is a gui for development only under php (problem here is budget since I guess is kind of expensive) As I mentioned I do not have experience and that’s why I am asking that.
I hope you can share your thoughts and experience.
Thanks in advance
Jorge Biquez
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6 Answers
5
As far as paid editors for Mac, I'm particularly fond of Coda, by a company called Panic. It's not language-specific, but it supports PHP as well as all the other main choices, and it makes developing fun.
My favorite feature is the built-in FTP client, which lets you seamlessly edit files on an FTP server. (Actually, when you click a file, it downloads it to a temporary folder, opens it, then reuploads it when you save -- but it does all that in a few seconds, so it FEELS like you're editing directly on the server, which is the important thing.)
It also has pretty good project management tools and a built-in terminal window. All in all, it saves me a lot of time when I code.
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3
A version of this question has come up on StackOverflow at least a few times:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6166/any-good-php-ide-preferably-free-or-cheap
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/579330/what-is-the-best-open-source-php-ide-out-there
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/116292/what-is-the-best-ide-for-php
Plenty of good suggestions there.
Personally, I use Textmate on the Mac and Ultraedit on Windows. If I were starting fresh on Windows, though, I would probably use Notepad++. It has some pretty good plugins, including one that links into PHP's XDebug debugging features.
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2
As far as free programming editors for Windows go, many people use and like Notepad++. It's a tad rough around the edges, but it does the job well, and you'll be MUCH happier than you are with Notepad.
If you're using a PC, I'd suggest trying Notepad++ before looking too hard at any paid options. It may meet most of your needs. (I've finished some pretty big projects in it.)
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1
I use vim and gvim (alternately) on Ubuntu. Both are pretty good for basic syntax checking, but there's no substitute for running a local server and looking at your php errors, either in the log or on the screen. If you're on a linux machine and doing PHP/MySQL development, definitely take a look at MySQL Query Browser, too.
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If you're going to be developing server side applications I strongly recommend you develop at least a passing familiarity with either emacs or vim. Both are free unix terminal applications that once learned support very easy and powerful text editing. Unfortunately, neither have a modern GUI and rely on keyboard commands to do everything.
The advantage however is you can edit files directly on the servers just the same as you do on your desktop. You'll quite often be in situations where you need to make some small edit on the server and then this comes in very handy.
I personally use emacs. If you're on a Mac you can also use a GUI version of emacs called Aquamacs that supports a lot of the Mac OS X native shortcuts to make the transition easier.
Albert Sun
139
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Coda rocks, but for a dedicated PHP IDE, you probably want something like PDT
Komodo Edit supports several languages, not just PHP. It's also worth a look.
EDIT:
Ah. I understand what you're asking now. The few hardcore PHP developers I know rely primarily on text editors. When they go to a shop that a strong preference, then they'll learn whatever GUI software the shop uses OTJ.
Given your situation, I'd say get Coda, which is excellent, put the "am I using the right software" question out of your mind, and deeply grok PHP.
Chrys Wu
395
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Your Answer
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If you’re just starting out, though, you really probably don’t want something THAT PHP-specific (as long as it does syntax highlighting). You’re going to want something that plays nice with CSS, and also Javascript, and maybe some other languages as you learn new things. Later, you can always upgrade to a more powerful language-specific tool, if you become a real PHP wiz and that becomes a need…
There might be better PHP-specific ides than Coda, but the slick GUI and no-nonsense UI make up for a lot of sins.
That’s what I use, too. Coda’s good stuff, especially when you’re switching between back end code and HTML a lot.