I am new to PHP and would like to learn. I am limited to running on Windows and need advice on getting setup. Which IDE should I use? Are there any development servers similar to the one included in Visual Studio? What other general advice do you have?
+5
A:
For a development server, I recommend installing an instance of XAMPP. It's a 1-step install of Apache, PHP, MySQL, and Perl. As far as Editors/IDE, there's a lot of different options out there. Personally, I prefer Notepad++.
GSto
2010-05-28 18:33:11
I agree with XAMPP. and as for development in general, Notepad++ is a tool I can't live without.
czuroski
2010-05-28 18:35:12
For fancy set for features in your IDE, Zend Studio is based on Eclipse. If you also do a lot of HTML and like to see what you do, Dreamweaver helps.
nute
2010-05-28 18:50:17
A:
Just go get a book. This one is free: http://www.computer-books.us/php_0004.php
Zak
2010-05-28 18:33:27
This is a great book, but its scope won't include much about setting up the entire environment. http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596005436 is slightly better, because of the inclusion of DB integration, however both lack advice about the entire setup including IDE, server, etc.
JYelton
2010-05-28 19:04:11
+1
A:
If it is intended to be a dev machine, there's no reason to hassle around with manual installation. There are bundles out there, like XAMPP or EasyPHP. Both of these offer very simple installation of apache, php and mysql.
Regarding editors, I tried a few. My personal choice is Netbeans, for being crossplatform and confortable.
Maerlyn
2010-05-28 18:37:12
A:
The Zend Server Community Edition does an install with PHP 5.2 or 5.3, Apache 2+, and MySQL 5+ as one install. As far as IDEs are concerned I've used Eclipse (and Zend Studio), Notepad++, and NetBeans. I tend to favor the Zend Studio implementation of Eclipse but they're both nice.
And, this is all on my local PC.
Inkspeak
2010-05-28 18:47:17
Out of curiosity, what is the difference between Zend Studio's version of Eclipse and the Eclipse for PHP Developers download from eclipse.org?
R. Bemrose
2010-05-28 19:14:23
I believe it has better ZendDebugger and PHPUnit integration (a huge bonus, IMHO). I know there are also some Zend Server integration pieces directly in the IDE. Ah, here's Zend's comparison. http://www.zend.com/en/products/studio/comparison
Inkspeak
2010-05-28 19:48:10
A:
Another easy to setup environment is the following:
- Wampserver (includes Apache, MySql, and PHP for Windows)
- UltraEdit (not free, but I prefer it over Notepad++)
- SQLyog Community Edition (I prefer it over phpmyadmin)
JYelton
2010-05-28 19:01:18
A:
I tried many IDEs and editors and finally settled on Visual Studio. You can install the Express Edition for free.
Then, with a quick registry hack you can enable syntax highlighting for PHP, which is darn near good enough for me.
spoulson
2010-05-28 19:09:57
A:
If you're not in need of Perl, I'd recommend WAMP (or here for English version) and either Eclipse PDT or NetBeans PHP.
GreenMatt
2010-05-28 19:10:00