I have been using dreamweaver for years due to I was working with a designer partner who use dreamweaver.

My new projects are more in php and mysql processing instead of working with a designer for front end web pages.

And instead of dreamweaver, I need to use zend studio now. I am new to zend studio, quick try out seems that zend studio has a lot of functions for the programmers than dreamweaver.

Could any one quick point out what is the difference between dreamweaver and zend studio, which is better for which?

Plus, I am planning to use codeigniter for future projects, zend studio and dreamweaver which is easy to use for codeigniter projects? Is zend studio more like a tool for zend?

I will do more research myself, but I am new projects on short deadline with zend studio, a new tool to me. If any quick advices can guide me to the right direction, that will be much appreciated.

    So no wysiwyg in Zend Studio 7.

    So obviously zend studio is not for the web projects like a dreamweaver for.

    What exactly zend studio php projects should be like?

    a zend studio file is either a php file, then we would hand code these html tags. or html file which we cannot embed php codes in it and run it as php web page to test.

    I am from dreamweaver and new to zend studio, due to the company decides to go with zend studio. But I was wondering looks like zend studio is only for certain style php projects.

    Without WYSIWYG, and no easy way to treat file of "php embedded in html" (because it is either php file, hand code in html tags, or html file which cannot be .php and cannot be run as php web page to test php embedded in it.)

    Zend Studio is for certain style or certain kind php projects, right? but what is it?

    With dreamweaver, I used code view most times anyway. I wouldn't mind to hand code in html and css, but if there is a wysiwyg view like dreamweaver to save me time, why not? and if there is css editor to save me hand code time, why not?

    In zend studio, due to their wysiwyg tool is not stable in old version, instead of update it, they remove the whole feature. ZendStudio is there for some purposes. But without wysiwyg, without the easy to use css editor, what kind projects zend studio is good at, what kind projects it is not good at?

      Zend Studio is more for programming than for design / cutup like Dreamweaver.

      I use Zend Studio mainly for Zend Framework based projects (Magento, custom things, etc.); however, used to use it as a php editor without any ZF involvement.

      Zend Studio is very good at PHP, HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS, and Javascript. It's very good at the web "languages". It provides you with what you need to create a very nice and rich website without getting in the way. Just because it doesn't have a WYSIWYG editor for layout, doesn't mean that it's bad or not for a particular purpose. Most designers will create a mock-up in Photoshop (or Illustrator) and then from there manually cut images, create a custom HTML document to make the cutup work for the web and then apply that to the pages, rather than letting Dreamweaver do the work fr you.

      There are things that Dreamweaver does that CSS can do perfectly fine. Things like roll-over images. Dreamweaver adds a javascript class to do roll-overs when the css pseudo-class "hover" will work nicely. Same thing with the "active" psuedo-class (i.e. on click). But only certain elements can have hover and active pseudo classes applied.

      If you really want to get into PHP programming, ditch the WYSIWYG editor. You shouldn't have to use any part of that for what you're doing in PHP.

      Asking which is better is like asking whether Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese is better. They're both good, they both taste good, just one suits more people's tastes better than the other.

      Personally, I left Dreamweaver back when it was still a Macromedia product and haven't looked back. I try to stay away from it unless a client says "I want a site that I can manage". Then I use dreamweaver templates since PHP is out of the question.

      I'm not a huge fan of Zend Studio; however, it does serve its purpose. But so does Notepad++, Wordpad, EditPlus, TextMate, ViM, jEdit; or, any other text editor that's out there. It all depends on what you're looking to get out of the program.

      If you want a WYSIWYG editor for PHP, then stick with Dreamweaver. I'm not sure why you'd want i as all you'll see is that little yellow code marker, but whatever. If you truly want to do nothing but code and force yourself off the WYSIWYG, find another program that doesn't have a WYSIWYG editor as part of it (Zend Studio, EditPlus, TextMate, Notepad++, UltraEdit, etc.).

      If you want a review of all the different editors out there, look around the echo lounge for a topic about "favorite editor".

        4 months later

        Currently I have been wrestling with this exact question for my team and have reached this conclusion: Use the right tool for the right job. Dreamweaver allows easy layout and interface design without having to fire up the browser any time you want to see how your code is affecting the presentation. Other editors, such as Zend Studio are really targeted at the back end, with the code completion and debugging tools, but does not provide any way to help the front end developer visualize how the data will be displayed. Plus, with its simple php tools, Dreamweaver does help my less php-savy front-end developers complete simple tasks such as tabular display of the results of queries and simple form submission and updates. Heavier lifting, such as class development falls to tools like Zend Studio.

        A carpenter does not normally use a tablesaw to create a dove-tail joint, nor does he use a hammer and chisel to dimension rough-hewn stock.

          jmer1234 wrote:

          Dreamweaver allows easy layout and interface design without having to fire up the browser any time you want to see how your code is affecting the presentation.

          Only for one browser though. If you develop to Firefox, IE may be totally out of whack by the time you're done, and you're still spending time testing in all browsers.

          I do agree though, use the tool for the job. I use a simple text-editor for css / html and during larger projects develop with an IDE (usually Zend) or perhaps ViM (just because it's faster).

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