Ccna final exam - java, php, javascript, ios, cshap all in one. This is a collaboratively edited question and answer site for professional and enthusiast programmers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Any good PHP IDE, preferably free or cheap?
Does anyone know of any good IDE (Code completion, Syntax coloring, etc) that will handle php. Looking for anything that might be relatively cheap or free and doesn't run like crap (IE: Eclipse)
NetBeans is a nice free editor that has been steadily adding support for languages like Ruby, PHP and Python. I've been using it on a MacBook Pro for Ruby and quite like it.
It has the standard IDE features like SCM integration and runs on most platforms.
For all of my web development needs, I use Aptana, which has support for Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Adobe AIR, PHP, (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and a few other things. It ties in nicely with various server software, has FTP (and I think SFTP), CVS and Subversion extensions, and more.
However, I have also heard good things about Eclipse for web development, but I only use Eclipse proper for desktop development (C, C++, Java). However, Aptana is built on Eclipse.
I second Komodo from ActiveState. They have Komodo Editor which is their IDE without their debugger and other features. The Editor recently went open which is good but I am not sure if I have seen any benefit as of yet.
Version 4.4 just came with the ability to create Zend Framework projects.
The 2 Great things about Komodo. 1)It is a user license, not an install license. I.E. if your company buys Komodo, you can use it a home, with the same license. This is great. 2) VI emulation. Coming from a unix world, this is fantastic. I wish more editors would offer this.
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned VIM. It's not an IDE out of the box but it has both features you mentioned (syntax highlighting and code completion) and provides better text-editing capabilities than any other editor mentioned here, albeit with a steeper learning curve.
I used to use JEdit but switched to Eclipse PDT after I realized how easy it makes working on larger projects: time-saving code completion on my own classes and methods, pressing F3 takes you to the function your cursor is on, has useful macro-like things called templates, PHP-Doc macros, put your cursor on a PHP function and press SHIFT-F2 and it takes you to the PHP site and looks up that function. CTRL-SHIFT-F re-indents everything. All these things you constantly use everyday and they just save you lots of time. I made a tutorial showing you how to install Eclipse PDT, Apache 2.2, PHP 5, MySQL 5, and phpMyAdmin in 30 minutes and demonstrate how to use these features:
Tutorial: Install a PHP Development Environment with Eclipse PDT, Apache 2.2, PHP 5, MySQL 5, and phpMyAdmin Using XAMPP Lite
On the Mac side, my favorite is Coda. It's not free ($79), but it has an elegant interface and rich feature-set (auto-complete, integrated FTP, graphical CSS, collaborative editing).
In the free department, I'd have to say TextWrangler, aka BBEdit Lite. Not an IDE, but quite a good text editor with syntax highlighting and so forth.
If you're on a Mac I'd suggest trying out TextMate. It's a free lightweight text editor written by a UNIX guy so there's a fair amount of shell integration and other pretty cool features I haven't seen anywhere else.
The biggest problem I have with most editors is that it's not a one click operation to save locally and remotely. Most of the time, I work directly on a development server; the main reasons being because I work on multiple machines and it would take hours to get setup on each machine. The second reason is the major differences between my local machine and remote. In PhpEd you can save either just locally or both locally and remotely (Ctrl + Shift + S). For me this saves a lot of time. It can upload through a large number of methods (SSH, FTP, WebDav).
The editors also includes a debugger, code navigators, ssh, DB client along with many other features. It also allows you to use the shell menu from Windows Explorer directly, which helps if you want to Tortise or just view the properties of a file.
The cost is a bit prohibitive, but they do release updates often, although it is a subscription.
I've heard good things about vs.php which allows you to develop PHP in Visual Studio. There is even a standalone version that does not require a Visual Studio license. It's not free however, but at about about $99 I think it is well worth it if you can harness the power of the frankly superb VS IDE.
I've used UltraEdit for a long time as my general purpose text/script editor. It has a plugins for syntax highlighting which work well once set up. PHP, Perl, HTML, C, C++ are all supported.
It doesn't support code completion.
It also has good DIFF tool, FTP/SFTP support, HEX editor, excellent macros, and loads of little features like a column select mode which is great for those odd occasions you need it.
Before that I used Textpad with the php syntax definition (try all the PHP syntax definitions until you find one right for you). Don't judge Textpad by it's cover. It's rock solid and really really useful. It has lots of useful addons as well (with room to write your own if you want). Best of all, it's free, and it has excellent macros support (which is a huge thing eclipse is lacking).
The reason I switched to Aptana was so that I could automatically upload a file on save (there is a script you have to install to get it to do that) but I just noticed that there is an addon to get Textpad to do that for you... Although Textpad doesn't have tab-auto complete nativly (there is an addon for that too though).
There is PHPEdit from Waterproof.fr which is inexpensive and I used it until we switched to Zend Studio. PHPedit is free for non-profit coding, just ask for a personal licence.
I've been following the NetBeans for PHP project but haven't actually tried it myself. I was impressed with version 6.1's support for Rails though, so if they can do the same with PHP, it'll be a keeper.
I use Zend Studio for PHP myself. Gotta pay for that one though.
I use Php IDE by JCX Software, a PHP plugin for Visual Studio (there is also a stand-alone version). I use it specifically because it's integrated so well with Visual Studio. Debugging works really well if you're used to the VS-style debugger.
You can select the version of PHP you want a particular debug instance to run against. It sets up Apache and PHP for you (not that it's hard to do, just convenient).
It's $99 or so and upgrades are less. I think student pricing is even cheaper.
I also have another vote for Aptana. The application is available as a stand-alone, or as a plug-in for Eclipse. I personally prefer Eclipse with the plug-in because I use it for development in other languages (like Java), but if you're primarily doing web development then Aptana is the way to go.
Every time I try to use one of the big IDE things it just seems slow and confusing. My tip for the up and coming developper is to use a simple but useful text editor with syntax highlighting and tab/bracket support (I like Smultron on mac, but there are tons like TextEdit, Notepad++ etc), then use phpXref to browse their code when they need to follow a process.
PhpXref is a bunch of perl scripts that ouput an interlinked version of your code, you can search for a function and see where it's defined and where its called. All source code is linked to function, variable etc information. It's pretty easy to run locally, you just add your source to a directory in the phpxref install and hit the perl script, you then have a bunch of html files that explain your code perfectly (phpdoc supported!).
This keeps your normal editor as simple as possible (and light, which is nice when you're working on your to do list with the same editor), but gives you the opportunity to dig deeper and do analysis on your code when you need to.
Example phpxref (wordpress trunk)
Caveat: I work almost exclusively on plugins and themes for the wordpress package, so I have no experience writing my own humonguous applications.
P.S. Someone said TextMate is free above but it's not. It's powerful and cool but 70$ is a lot and I find the Free/Open Source Smultron gives you almost all the benefit at 100% less cost.
I'm just gonna say no. I've tried out several IDE's and they all have pro and cons for each one. I gave up looking for the "visual studio" of ide's for php
Geany is a good editor overall, has many languages built in. It's both on Windows and Linux, don't know of any mac versions though. It's light and fast, isn't overcumbered with features that makes it a giant, however you have to download the engine/compiler in question. Geany
I've bought PhpDesigner and i never want to go back. It actually makes a list of all function names, class names, class members, constants, etc in every file in your project, and uses them for auto-completing your code. Its blazing fast! I never want to go back.
NetBeans is a nice free editor that has been steadily adding support for languages like Ruby, PHP and Python. I've been using it on a MacBook Pro for Ruby and quite like it.
ReplyDeleteIt has the standard IDE features like SCM integration and runs on most platforms.
I prefer Eclipse with PDT installed. It contains:
ReplyDeleteA library of all PHP functions
Integrated WSDL Generator
Class Designer
UML Diagram support
Object/Instance "Linking"
Clicking on an Object results shows you it's definition.
Clicking on an instance shows you where it was defined.
JetBrains new PhpStorm is definitely worth a try - just check the features. And the price is below $100.
ReplyDeleteAlso, see this answer for some more insight
For all of my web development needs, I use Aptana, which has support for Ruby, Ruby on Rails, Adobe AIR, PHP, (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and a few other things. It ties in nicely with various server software, has FTP (and I think SFTP), CVS and Subversion extensions, and more.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have also heard good things about Eclipse for web development, but I only use Eclipse proper for desktop development (C, C++, Java). However, Aptana is built on Eclipse.
I second Komodo from ActiveState. They have Komodo Editor which is their IDE without their debugger and other features. The Editor recently went open which is good but I am not sure if I have seen any benefit as of yet.
ReplyDeleteVersion 4.4 just came with the ability to create Zend Framework projects.
The 2 Great things about Komodo.
1)It is a user license, not an install license. I.E. if your company buys Komodo, you can use it a home, with the same license. This is great.
2) VI emulation. Coming from a unix world, this is fantastic. I wish more editors would offer this.
Komodo Edit
Komodo IDE
I recommend Notepad++
ReplyDeleteIt's a very powerful solution, open-source and moreover free...
I like the new functionnalities like the ftp plugins with the ability to automatically send the file your saving on the ftp :
ctrl+s => file save + file sent through network to the associated directory !
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned VIM. It's not an IDE out of the box but it has both features you mentioned (syntax highlighting and code completion) and provides better text-editing capabilities than any other editor mentioned here, albeit with a steeper learning curve.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you not like about Eclipse?
ReplyDeleteI used to use JEdit but switched to Eclipse PDT after I realized how easy it makes working on larger projects: time-saving code completion on my own classes and methods, pressing F3 takes you to the function your cursor is on, has useful macro-like things called templates, PHP-Doc macros, put your cursor on a PHP function and press SHIFT-F2 and it takes you to the PHP site and looks up that function. CTRL-SHIFT-F re-indents everything. All these things you constantly use everyday and they just save you lots of time. I made a tutorial showing you how to install Eclipse PDT, Apache 2.2, PHP 5, MySQL 5, and phpMyAdmin in 30 minutes and demonstrate how to use these features:
Tutorial: Install a PHP Development Environment with Eclipse PDT, Apache 2.2, PHP 5, MySQL 5, and phpMyAdmin Using XAMPP Lite
I like PHPDesigner
ReplyDeleteVIM. I've dabbled with other editors/IDE's but always go back.
ReplyDeleteI've used Komodo from ActiveState with some success. I've not needed to go elsewhere. For personal use, this IDE is free.
ReplyDeleteOn the Mac side, my favorite is Coda. It's not free ($79), but it has an elegant interface and rich feature-set (auto-complete, integrated FTP, graphical CSS, collaborative editing).
ReplyDeleteIn the free department, I'd have to say TextWrangler, aka BBEdit Lite. Not an IDE, but quite a good text editor with syntax highlighting and so forth.
If you're on a Mac I'd suggest trying out TextMate. It's a free lightweight text editor written by a UNIX guy so there's a fair amount of shell integration and other pretty cool features I haven't seen anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI currently use PhpEd by Nusphere.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem I have with most editors is that it's not a one click operation to save locally and remotely. Most of the time, I work directly on a development server; the main reasons being because I work on multiple machines and it would take hours to get setup on each machine. The second reason is the major differences between my local machine and remote. In PhpEd you can save either just locally or both locally and remotely (Ctrl + Shift + S). For me this saves a lot of time. It can upload through a large number of methods (SSH, FTP, WebDav).
The editors also includes a debugger, code navigators, ssh, DB client along with many other features. It also allows you to use the shell menu from Windows Explorer directly, which helps if you want to Tortise or just view the properties of a file.
The cost is a bit prohibitive, but they do release updates often, although it is a subscription.
There are hundreds of other features too.
I've heard good things about vs.php which allows you to develop PHP in Visual Studio. There is even a standalone version that does not require a Visual Studio license. It's not free however, but at about about $99 I think it is well worth it if you can harness the power of the frankly superb VS IDE.
ReplyDeletePSPad is awesome and is capable of running from a USB key :)
ReplyDeleteI've used UltraEdit for a long time as my general purpose text/script editor. It has a plugins for syntax highlighting which work well once set up. PHP, Perl, HTML, C, C++ are all supported.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't support code completion.
It also has good DIFF tool, FTP/SFTP support, HEX editor, excellent macros, and loads of little features like a column select mode which is great for those odd occasions you need it.
NB: It is not free but cheap at around $50 USD
my choices after 5 years of PHP programming:
ReplyDeleteNetbeans v.6+
Vim (with: colorscheme xoria256 , NERDTree)
Gedit ( snippets, Darkmate theme)
Zend 5.5 (very stable)
Try Aptana. I use it and love it.
ReplyDeleteBefore that I used Textpad with the php syntax definition (try all the PHP syntax definitions until you find one right for you). Don't judge Textpad by it's cover. It's rock solid and really really useful. It has lots of useful addons as well (with room to write your own if you want). Best of all, it's free, and it has excellent macros support (which is a huge thing eclipse is lacking).
The reason I switched to Aptana was so that I could automatically upload a file on save (there is a script you have to install to get it to do that) but I just noticed that there is an addon to get Textpad to do that for you... Although Textpad doesn't have tab-auto complete nativly (there is an addon for that too though).
There is PHPEdit from Waterproof.fr which is inexpensive and I used it until we switched to Zend Studio.
ReplyDeletePHPedit is free for non-profit coding, just ask for a personal licence.
I know and use very good free PHP IDE - http://www.codelobster.com
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Stas.
I've been following the NetBeans for PHP project but haven't actually tried it myself. I was impressed with version 6.1's support for Rails though, so if they can do the same with PHP, it'll be a keeper.
ReplyDeleteI use Zend Studio for PHP myself. Gotta pay for that one though.
I use Php IDE by JCX Software, a PHP plugin for Visual Studio (there is also a stand-alone version). I use it specifically because it's integrated so well with Visual Studio. Debugging works really well if you're used to the VS-style debugger.
ReplyDeleteYou can select the version of PHP you want a particular debug instance to run against. It sets up Apache and PHP for you (not that it's hard to do, just convenient).
It's $99 or so and upgrades are less. I think student pricing is even cheaper.
http://www.jcxsoftware.com/vs.php
I also have another vote for Aptana. The application is available as a stand-alone, or as a plug-in for Eclipse. I personally prefer Eclipse with the plug-in because I use it for development in other languages (like Java), but if you're primarily doing web development then Aptana is the way to go.
ReplyDeleteDevPHP isn't bad, it's what I currently use at work. Eclipse is also really good.
ReplyDeleteI checked out and have fully switched to Aptana after reading this thread. I'm really loving it so far.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I try to use one of the big IDE things it just seems slow and confusing. My tip for the up and coming developper is to use a simple but useful text editor with syntax highlighting and tab/bracket support (I like Smultron on mac, but there are tons like TextEdit, Notepad++ etc), then use phpXref to browse their code when they need to follow a process.
ReplyDeletePhpXref is a bunch of perl scripts that ouput an interlinked version of your code, you can search for a function and see where it's defined and where its called. All source code is linked to function, variable etc information. It's pretty easy to run locally, you just add your source to a directory in the phpxref install and hit the perl script, you then have a bunch of html files that explain your code perfectly (phpdoc supported!).
This keeps your normal editor as simple as possible (and light, which is nice when you're working on your to do list with the same editor), but gives you the opportunity to dig deeper and do analysis on your code when you need to.
Example phpxref (wordpress trunk)
Caveat: I work almost exclusively on plugins and themes for the wordpress package, so I have no experience writing my own humonguous applications.
P.S. Someone said TextMate is free above but it's not. It's powerful and cool but 70$ is a lot and I find the Free/Open Source Smultron gives you almost all the benefit at 100% less cost.
I'm just gonna say no.
ReplyDeleteI've tried out several IDE's and they all have pro and cons for each one. I gave up looking for the "visual studio" of ide's for php
Geany is a good editor overall, has many languages built in. It's both on Windows and Linux, don't know of any mac versions though. It's light and fast, isn't overcumbered with features that makes it a giant, however you have to download the engine/compiler in question. Geany
ReplyDeleteI've bought PhpDesigner and i never want to go back. It actually makes a list of all function names, class names, class members, constants, etc in every file in your project, and uses them for auto-completing your code. Its blazing fast! I never want to go back.
ReplyDelete