Topic: PHP Editors

[Brian]

I recently found an interesting product that may become very powerful for the PHP developer, especially those who have experience with Visual Studio. Take a look at a product called VS.PHP here:

http://www.jcxsoftware.com/vs.php

I have not had much time to explore it, and frankly I am not comfortable with the VS style IDE. Another great program though that really helps with formatting, which lends itself to better code writing and few mistakes, is this program:

PHP Expert Editor 4.0
http://www.ankord.com/

I am not trying to hock these programs, but they are among the better editors that I ahve seen. I like the latter program the best from a purely straight forward design point of view. It shows where { } do or do not match up, it gives a break down of vars, functions, classes (objects), and much more.

I also use Dreamweaver 8, thank goodness I got it before Adobe bought out Macromedia, overnight the price jumped about $200.00 for the very same app.

[CanUuRead]

I've tried both, and they are better than most. However, when it comes to straight PHP coding I prefer Zend Development Environment. The 'code-hinting' and 'active syntax' checking are outstanding. It's worth every penny I paid plus some.

I also use Dreamweaver for things like styling (CSS) and visual layout.

My favorite CSS editor is TopStyle - it also handles HTML and PHP (limited though). Excellent 'code-hinting'

[Brian]

Do you use the Standard or Professonal version of ZDE?

[CanUuRead]

Professional, if you're in for a penny, you might as well be in for a pound.

The only negative I have with it is that is a little slow at startup - JAVA intensive. However, once it is up it's just as fast as other IDE's (faster in some respects).

Code Hinting (Code Completion) can be adjusted in preference to use PHP4 or PHP5, and it's very intutitive. Great snippets and easy to use and create templates. It's reduced my coding time by about 25 to 50% (depending on what I'm doing). It's not going to take a 'dump' for you - you still have to know PHP, but it will reduce your time.

I love it and I'm very, very picky.

[Jorge]

I use Dreamweaver 8 soly for my php, css, xhtml,... coding.

I tried working with the Zend IDE IIRC it had a debugger which was nice but it kept on freezeing on my computer every hour or 2. Not a big problem but Later i switched to DW 8 and never looked back. And If i'm on the go i use Notepad++ which i have on my USB key

[Brian]

I guess it takes an entire mind effort to adjust to using an IDE versus an editor. I very much care for the formatting quality when using PHP Expert Editor 4.0, it is so dang simple to format the most complex scripts.

I guess is as difficult to adjust to using and IDE as it would be to switch from using procedural style coding to object oriented coding. I will likely try using an IDE, likely Zend and see what I think.

[CanUuRead]

If your intent is to use ZDE with Apache 2.2.3 and PHP 5.1.6 (with anything other than the stock handler from PHP.net - such as the handler from here or one you compile yourself), you have to use Zend Studio Server (comes with ZDE).

Once both are installed, start ZDE and Change the Preferences for the Debugger (Tools | Preferences | Debug) to:

Debug Mode: Server

Debug Server URL: http(s):// localhost/

You will also see that a file named dummy.php has been added to your web folder - make a copy of that file (in case of accidental deletion via a clean process - Yes, I deleted it not thinking once) as you need this to run the debugger.

Brian, Zend has a fully funtional trial for 30 or 60 days - More than enough time to evaluate.

If you write PHP professionally or want to maintain the integrity of your code, consider Zend Guard - not cheap, but definitely keeps people from leeching your coding efforts. It does a serious job of encoding and obfuscation.

[Jorge]

[CanUuRead]

Jorge,

No, Zend Guard generates a random and complex encoding key, then applies it to your code. For people to use your code, they have to have the key. So you don't have to use Zend Optimizer. For some reason they try to bundle Guard with Optimizer...don't ask me why.

I've used it and it's pretty cool. If you look at the PHP script it is completely unrecognizable. As far as the key goes, you can set it expire after a certain period of time or to never expire. Again, Zend allows you to evaluate without purchasing...if you are curious download it and give it a try.

[Jorge]

[CanUuRead]

When I last used it, it could encrypt almost anything you can think of.

[sb.net]

You know, I have found that the best editor is Eclipse. It is so advanced, but it is 100% free. I like free. I am using it for all my sites now.

http://www.eclipse.org/

[liquid986]

[sb.net]

Well, sure, but eclipse runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. I use them all. So I can easily move form one computer to the other with out change.

[underxp]

I'm using PHP Designer 2007, have one personal edition:
www.mpsoftware.dk