wow - had no idea. that could, potentially, be very useful.

    4 days later
    20 days later

    I use Notepad++. It is a good editor capable of highlighting syntax, it is a built-in editor with Windows7, and more importantly it loads fast. I had Dreamweavor before, but couldnt stand the fact that it took a minute to open a php file...

    Of course more advanced softwares like dreamweavor have more functionalities, so those who live with these functionalities will have different preferences.

      I went all out last week and invested in php storm, if you have a few bucks spare its a worthwhile buy. Compared to all freeware/opensource versions it amazing.

        I have phpdesigner which highligth the syntax for it and its cool to use

          2 months later

          Stupid question but does anyone know what Eclipse does when building a workspace? Having always used very simple text editors I just don't understand the whole building a workspace and projects milarky.

            When you build the workspace it store your project at that place

            and using the advance editor help us to work within the project file only and make it easily accessible (go through) from one file to another

              Thanks for the quick reply vivek, although I still think I'm missing the point.

              From my very limited experience with Eclipse you have to specify a workspace and then create/import a project which contains your actual code, but surely the actual code should sit in the web server and not the workspace? I guess the workspace could be the web server directory but then you'd fill it with 200+MB of meta-data you don't need for the actual web programme. Maybe it's just because Eclipse's roots are in Java so it's more of a convention but I don't see the reason for creating the workspace or the project.

                The workspace is the location where the project is stored on the filesystem. As well as project metadata, it also stores things like the change history - every time you save a file a diff is made so that you can revert it later if you get the urge.

                As for why the project is needed .... well, there's more to an application than just a bunch of files; version control, indexing, documentation, build scripts, the choice about whether indenting is done with four spaces or an 8-space-wide tab - all that has to go somewhere.

                And yes, you do want the "actual code" to be stored locally when you're working on it - for the simple reason that you're working on it.

                  Emma wrote:

                  From my very limited experience with Eclipse you have to specify a workspace and then create/import a project which contains your actual code, but surely the actual code should sit in the web server and not the workspace? I guess the workspace could be the web server directory but then you'd fill it with 200+MB of meta-data you don't need for the actual web programme. Maybe it's just because Eclipse's roots are in Java so it's more of a convention but I don't see the reason for creating the workspace or the project.

                  I doubt that your Eclipse project contains your "actual code" in the sense of the code on the web server. Rather, it would contain your local copy of your code, which is then uploaded to your web server through (secure) FTP integration. Disclaimer: I have not used Eclipse for PHP.

                    Ahh ok, thanks weedpacket and laserlight. The way we've been developing has been we use WAMP as our localhost and edit those files with whatever text editor we prefer, with all the documentation sitting elsewhere. I guess with the Eclipse way everything sits in one place, but you'd have to copy the code to your local/test web server to see the impact of your changes?

                      Emma wrote:

                      I guess with the Eclipse way everything sits in one place, but you'd have to copy the code to your local/test web server to see the impact of your changes?

                      You may be able to configure it such that that copying is unnecessary. In fact, considering the debugger integration, I would expect that such copying should be unnecessary.

                        Emma wrote:

                        I guess with the Eclipse way everything sits in one place

                        The significance is more that your development workflow is concentrated in one place, instead of being spread across separate programs that don't know about the big picture (once for editing, one for uploading, one for writing documentation, and so on); hence the acronym "IDE".

                        laserlight wrote:

                        In fact, considering the debugger integration, I would expect that such copying should be unnecessary.

                        Yes: the server Eclipse controls just needs to serve from the working copy (and have the appropriate debugging extension installed in PHP).

                        Mind you, Eclipse's PDT is really for those who need to add PHP support to their existing environments, or who don't want (or can't afford) to spring for Zend Studio. As such, a lot of Eclipse doesn't really have much to do with PHP.

                          I've been working with PhpStorm from JetBrains for 18 months and I love it. It's fast. It's stable. It packs all the right stuff for us mad (wo)men. If you're looking for a change of editor, I warmly support it!

                          Note: My user experience includes only MacOSX, can't say how it works on windows/Linux.

                            7 days later

                            i used notepad. ... then stumbled upon this thread.. lol I NEVER KNEW!!! lol...

                              I tried Eclipse but I found it to be too bloated and honestly, way too complicated and involved for what it needs to be. To have to go through creating workspaces and projects just to edit a PHP file is annoying. A coworker uses it and we sometimes poke fun at each other for using our respective editors (I'm a Komodo Edit user myself). I also couldn't get it to run on my home machine because of issues with the Java path even though it appeared correct. Komodo Edit installed and worked no problem. shrug Eclipse does have a nice feature set, though.

                              0o0o0;11009219 wrote:

                              i used notepad. ... then stumbled upon this thread.. lol I NEVER KNEW!!! lol...

                              Good Lord. Even I used Dreamweaver before "seeing the light". You poor soul. :p

                                Some of us started on vi. Because it was all there was!

                                  The new Komodo Edit has intellisense and tooltips for jQuery, which is pretty awesome.

                                  Bunkermaster;11009281 wrote:

                                  Some of us started on vi. Because it was all there was!

                                  NOT a fan of vi and vim. :mad:

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