Support for PHP programming
IDE - Development environments for PHP developers
What is an Integrated Development Environment, IDE for short?
With an IDE, various tools that are necessary or helpful for software development are combined in one application. The core is the editor for the source code. When writing the code, the developer is supported by visual highlighting of syntax and display of possible errors in the code. The source code can be compiled in the same application and automatically converted into an executable program. Another important component is the debugger. It can be used to run through the program step by step in order to locate errors.
There are IDEs in all kinds of variants: license-based or open source and free, for different operating systems such as Windows or Unix and specialized in various programming languages such as Java, Javascript, C++, C#, PHP and many more.
Why use an IDE?
The main task of an integrated development environment is to support the developer in his work. By being able to perform many tasks related to software development in one application, he saves time. He only needs to learn how to use one tool and does not need to change the application while working. With open source software, installation is fast and free of charge. Files can be sorted and structured as needed, making it easy to manage the newly developed software. When several developers work together in teams, the importance becomes especially great. By integrating repositories, changes in the code as well as their history can be managed and visually displayed. Versions can be compared, adjusted and restored.
Besides the administration, the support in terms of creating error-free code has a high importance. The IDE knows programming languages such as Java, C++ or PHP and ensures good readability by coloring various elements. In addition, suggestions are made when writing and shortcuts ensure quick insertion of entire code constructs. This allows not only faster, but also error-free development. Depending on the development environment and project, the code is already compiled in parallel with the development and thus possible error sources can be identified and made visible in the code. The possibility to create and execute tests extends the range of tools for error prevention. Finally, the debugger with debugging rounds off this aspect of software development.
Through various open source development environments, there is the possibility to co-develop additional features and thus further improve the software development process.
Which IDE is suitable for PHP development?
PHP development can be done with any IDE, but an IDE with built-in PHP support will greatly simplify the development process. The most popular PHP IDEs include NetBeans, PHP-Storm and Eclipse.
