Which PHP IDE? / What do you use to code?

[subtato]

Gave Zend Studio a try, and I love it. The beta works just fine, and I intend to use it for my own development, sped things up quite a bit

 

[SchmitzIT]

Programming with an IDE is faster, less error-prone and more intuitive. My productivity doubled when I switched over to Eclipse, simply because things are there to make your life easier - not to do the job for you, but to assist you.

This. Being able to use a simple keystroke to bring up all declared variables, and to provide almost instant feedback when there's an error in the code literally shaves hours off of projects over time.

Sure, one can dabble about in NotePad etc (and NotePad++ is actually great!), but why would you? (Unless you're a masochist who rather spends his time creating the perfect code by hand, instead of putting to use the intelligence of an IDE and bieng able to spend more time interacting with your userbase).

On-topic, I use a PHP plugin for Visual Studio

 

[ragtek]

I'm using Netbeans and i'm very happy with it

And yea, a IDE is a "must have" if you're working with OOP.
It makes developers life soo much easier

 

[dmnkhhn]

I'm using Netbeans and i'm very happy with it

I was using Netbeans but I found PhpStorm to be much faster.
You will find their latest builds at http://confluence.jetbrains.net/display/WI/Web+IDE+EAP

Only thing I am struggling with at the moment is the MAMP integration. When I select the PHP 5.3 binary I get a permission denied error.

 

[Philipp]

I am using here good old Zend Studio 5.5. Perhaps it's time to upgrade?

 

[SneakyDave]

I used UltraEdit for about 10 years before trying a "real" IDE, Eclipse/PDT, I'm still trying to figure it out. I have a lot of CodeIgniter projects that I use it for, and its a learning curve, but its coming along.

I still haven't been able to get debug to work like I want because it appears to use the CLI version of my local PHP, which doesn't recognize some $_SERVER variables, so I guess I'm supposed to code around that or something. But that's a separate discussion.

Are there any good PDT packages available for jquery development? That's the next thing I plan to tackle.

 

[Kier]

I used UltraEdit for about 10 years before trying a "real" IDE, Eclipse/PDT, I'm still trying to figure it out. I have a lot of CodeIgniter projects that I use it for, and its a learning curve, but its coming along.

I still haven't been able to get debug to work like I want because it appears to use the CLI version of my local PHP, which doesn't recognize some $_SERVER variables, so I guess I'm supposed to code around that or something. But that's a separate discussion.

Are there any good PDT packages available for jquery development? That's the next thing I plan to tackle.

You can always add Aptana onto PDT for good jQuery tools.

 

[Jeremy]

I'm actually trying Coda.
Should it be supposed to have auto complete for the XenForo or Zend classes to?
Or just eclipse do that?

Unfortunately, it doesn't have that "IDE" powered set up. It'd be nice though! I've suggested adding custom 'functions' to the mix.

 

[Lewis P]

The greatness of an app has nothing to do with the tools that are used to create it, in that respect you are right.

However, you are massively wasting your time if you are messing about with Notepad++ or any other non-intelligent editor when working with systems like IPB and XenForo. Programming with an IDE is faster, less error-prone and more intuitive. My productivity doubled when I switched over to Eclipse, simply because things are there to make your life easier - not to do the job for you, but to assist you.

Don't be a notepad snob, use decent tools to save you time and do a better job.

Looks like I'll be giving Eclipse a use later on tonight then, eh?

 

[Shamil]

I've just got a license for phpDesigner, but I'm also looking at PhpEd, they look similar, but phpDesigner's interface is a bit cluttered.

 

[Danny.VBT]

I haven't decided on an IDE yet, I've used Eclipse, Zend Studio, and NetBeans; they all have their individual perks and flaws. Right now, I am sticking with Zend Studio because I am using Zend Framework extensively for a project and it has the best integration and support for the framework IMO.

 

[MainFrame]

eclipse / notepad / wordpad works like a charm

 

[Paul M]

I havent seen anyone mention cost in this thread - are all these IDE's free ?

 

[Danny.VBT]

Eclipse and NetBeans are free; Zend Studio is not. If you are not looking to pay, both Eclipse and Netbeans are great choices.

 

[Blandt]

I havent seen anyone mention cost in this thread - are all these IDE's free ?

eclipse is !

 

[Shamil]

My only gripe with Eclipse and Netbeans, and Zend studio, is that they are Java based, and have really crappy performance on my development machine.

 

[Laric]

My only gripe with Eclipse and Netbeans, and Zend studio, is that they are Java based, and have really crappy performance on my development machine.

I have never seen a fast performing Java application. My totally personal opinion is that Java is really slow.

 

[Awesome-o]

I used UltraEdit for about 10 years before trying a "real" IDE, Eclipse/PDT, I'm still trying to figure it out.

yeah same here, and after I started digging into the XF code I realized the value of an IDE. I've only played with Eclipse a few minutes but I'm beginning to see the light.

 

[Robbo]

phpDesigner is the IDE for me. Just seems to do everything I want it to do and does it right. I have tried a lot of editors/IDEs and have always found something that just annoys me. Still haven't found any problems with phpDesigner. Oh the fact it isn't free is a small inconvenience.

 

[Shamil]

Now, design wise, Microsoft's WebMatrix looks erm... ooooooooh