PHP is one of the most loved and widely practised programming languages for web development. The lightweight scripting language, comes with minimal complexity, becoming the first choice of most of the web developers over the world. Also, with the help of various available PHP tools, including the text editors and the Integrated Development Environment frameworks, writing the code becomes easier. The popularity of PHP has brought numerous PHP development tools into being, that is effectively reducing the workload for the developers and enhancing their efficiency at the same time. The following are the best PHP tools that are most widely used by PHP Developer all across the world:
1. Eclipse: Eclipse platform has been one of the most used IDE for languages like Java and Android development. But now it is also becoming popular as the PHP Integrated Development Environment framework that provides almost all of the necessary development components for the development of PHP-based Web Applications. It uses the Zend Debugger/Xdebug for PHP Debugging and PHP profiling. Eclipse not only supports the PHP language but also backs the Git client, XML Editor and Mylyn, Terminal. The software provides the PHP developers with a large variety of open source plugins created by the Eclipse ecosystem to extend the experience of developing PHP codes.
2. Netbeans: NetBeans is an open source IDE, that supports multiple programming languages including PHP. The software is free for download and is an open source platform, having the biggest community of developers. The software has been written in Java and supports various web frameworks as well as CMSs, including WordPress, CakePHP, Symfony and Zend. The user interface of NetBeans is designed based on Swift, a Java lightweight toolkit, making its interface simpler and friendlier. The previous version of this IDE was slower and only supported Java, but, with the addition of support for multiple languages and various other features, it has improved on speed and performance.
3. Zend Studio: Zend Studio is one of the fastest IDE tools for PHP and saves a lot of time in writing and debugging the code. It supports the latest version of PHP, i.e. PHP 7.1. The platform allows the developers to organize the PHP application on more than one server. It backs the Xdebug, Zend Debugger, and Z-Ray integration for robust debugging. It is compatible with operating systems including Linux, MacOS, Windows. It also provides support for CMS like WordPress and Joomla. The features provided by Zend Studio includes PHP code completion, code templates, auto-formatting.
4. Aptana Studio: Aptana Studio is a professional, open source, Integrated Development Environment that supports various client-side and server-side web technologies, including PHP, Python C++, CSS, HTML, etc. The software provides support for elements like code assist, command completion and code syntax validation, and lets the developers quickly build web applications. It facilitates the seamless Git-based deployments and allows the developers to add modules in the IDE for better code support, with the help of plugins. The main features offered by Aptana Studio include a code assist, deployment wizard, integrated debugger, and built-in terminal.
5. PHPStorm: PHPStorm is another widely used PHP IDE, that allows the integration with an extensive range of PHP web frameworks and CMSs, including Laravel, Yii, Magento, Joomla, Zend, WordPress. The IDE offers the developers with features like command-line tools, REST client, composer and version control system, providing faster and smooth web development experience. It supports live-editing for all front-end technologies as well as integration with Version Control Systems. The software is available as a paid enterprise as well as a free version for teachers and students.
6. Sublime Text: Sublime Text is a cross-platform text editor that comes with a custom UI toolkit. The robust text editor is designed to write code, markup, and prose, with the help of an excellent command palette integrated with it. The platform offers the developers with a variety of shortcuts that help them with quick navigation to files, jump to a line, word, or symbol. With Sublime, the developers can also edit or modify multiple codes at the same time. The platform is compatible with many language grammars and facilitates the developers with simultaneous Editing. Sublime is one of the most used text editors by the PHP developers, which is faster and more convenient to use.
7. PHP Designer: PHP Designer is the best-suited IDE for the beginners, which is fast, powerful and easy to use. The platform is specially designed to write PHP codes and is integrated with CSS, HTML and Javascript. It lets the developer write high-quality PHP code, facilitating them with debugging, analysis and editing at the same place. The features provided by PHP Designer includes code completion, code tip, support for PHP classes and syntax highlighting, etc. The IDE also renders support for Object-Oriented Programming, Real-time Syntax Checking, Powerful Code Beautifier. It uses the Xdebug for debugging and PHP profiling, as well as work with files over FTP/SFTP.
The availability of such a broad range of PHP development tools provides the web developers with diverse options to choose from, depending upon their requirement as well as their skills. Even the PHP beginners will find it easy to write codes on those platforms instead of writing it on the Notepad.
With extensive experience in working with the various PHP development tools, the Xornor team provides you with a range of web development services. Reach out to us to find out more and get a quote.