Getting your hands unclean with PHP development tools is one of the best feelings in the world, and I can’t agree anymore. Writing good code in the least amount of time can be insanely tricky, especially in today’s competing world. According to many experienced coders, including myself attest using the right IDE or code editor for the job.
Being one of the most popular server programming languages across the globe, PHP has gained momentum like never before. Once used to write scripts in the environment of the hosting operating system is now in the server part of any website which includes a huge number of SQL queries and intensive interactions with databases. Due to which it becomes crucial for your program to support the FTP protocol by understanding the syntax of SQL and provide an interface for connecting databases to advanced editing capabilities.
Since you are reading this, it seems that you have decided to code wisely. Many of you would probably run to Wikipedia, which should never be done! Their articles make absolutely no sense to a beginner. And that’s why I came up with the following post to embark best options available for you when it comes to PHP code editors. Now it is possible to get going ahead with PHP programming tools in a fundamental text editor, like notepad but better is to commence off with a feature rich and absolute IDE such as NetBeans.
Spot the Difference Between IDE and Code Editors
Day in day out writing code seems to become a basic skill; however, people are quite confused when it comes to the exact definition of an IDE and a code editor. Integrated Development Environment, commonly known as IDE, is basically a self-contained package that allows you to write, compile, execute, and debug code everything in the same place. Whereas On the other hand, a code editor is a mere text editor comprising of features either through native capabilities or optional plugins to facilitate the process of writing code.
IDE mainly focuses on a single language and contains the compiler/interpreter and debugger specific to the language. Whereas in contrast, code editors are somewhat capable of working with a number of programming languages. Code editors are just limited to writing code and are unable to do anything beyond this stage.
Code completion, hints, highlighting sections of code, and custom folding of sections of code are some standard features shared by both IDE and Code editors. There is no cookie cutter solution here as choosing between an IDE or code editor is largely a matter of personal preference, especially in regards to the programming language you are using and the workflow.
Down below I Would Like You to Get Acquainted With Some of the Best PHP Code Editors
#1 Aptana Studio PHP Editor
As the name implies, the editor is developed by Aptana Inc. One of the leading open-source HTML editor which supports PHP framework to a great extent. Developed on Eclipse platform, the editor comes with n-built support for Smarty and Debugger exclusive for PHP developers out here. It supports operating systems like Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.
#2 Atom
Another fascinating open-source code editor which mainly runs on all platform by providing crucial support for plugins especially written in Node.js and GitControl. Primarily considered as a desktop application, Atom is built using web technologies, especially the ones which extend packages featuring free software licenses. It is mainly based on framework names Electron that enables cross-platform desktop applications using Chromium and Node.js. Its pros include:
- Several customization options available
- A built-in package manager
- Easy-to-install packages
- Git Integration
- Open- source and free
#3 Visual Studio Code
If you are looking for a code editor that runs on all major operating systems, Visual Studio Code is Microsoft’s cross-platform is worth noticing.
The exciting part about this code editor is that it is built on top of Atom’s open-source components; however, Microsoft removed some features and added a handful of new ones. The most interesting part of this code is that it is faster than Atom, both at startup and while running. Being fully customizable, here, you can find many themes and plugins in the official marketplace. In addition to this, you can install them quite easily from the editor and start using them on an immediate basis.
In addition to this, the code editor, in particular, comprises of many features that have the potential to significantly improve your development workflow. Probably being one of the most notable features that provide you with a list of smart suggestions while you are writing your code. It may quite interest you to know that it has a great built-in debugger as well that allows you to debug right from the editor.
#4 Sublime Text
After its third major release, this code editor has grown in terms of popularity. In addition to this, I must say it’s not free and come with a free trial. For continuous usage, you must purchase a license. If you think the code editor locks you out; if you don’t do so, it’s entirely a myth. In fact, it just occasionally displays a pop-up warning asking you to buy the license.
By hitting the Ctrl + P keyboard shortcut, you can use the Goto Anything command. After that, you can quickly open files, or jump to certain words, lines, or symbols. A sophisticated Command Palette is offered through which you access a wide range of functionalities such as checking key bindings or switch to another color palette.
In addition to this, it allows multiple selections and split editing and also a huge package ecosystem.
#5 Notepadd++
Another free and open source code editor which supports a plethora of languages, licensed by GPL and running in the MS Windows environment. Notepad++ is based on a powerful editing component called Scintilla, written in C++ and utilizes pure Win32 API and STL to ensure a higher execution speed and smaller program size.
#6 Codelobster
Being easily accessible from Codelobster software, PHP edition has the potential to maintain the Windows platform. Installs debugger automatically and helps PHP developers to configure it by having an ability to deploy projects on your local web server or remote server by FTP. And you know what the best part is, developers can use the plugin to operate with famous CMS and frameworks like Facebook, CakePHP, Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Smarty, Jquery, Symfony, CodeIgniter, and Yii.
#7 Light Table
Able to conduct operations on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X, Light Table has a streak and streamlined user interface that does away with all the clutter, but still provides you with a command palette and a fuzzy finder. It’s written in ClojureScript and currently supports HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Clojure, and ClojureScript.
Light Table also makes it possible to embed anything that your project needs, such as graphs, games, and visualizations.
