Need a WYSIWYG PHP / Javascript IDE - replacement for Dreamweaver

Question

I'm looking for a replacement website application development IDE. Ideally it will run on both Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows.

I'm typically developing small to medium sized web applications of some richness and complexity - by way of example I'm currently handling a site for a local council which manages their waste collection and reprocessing services. This integrates some fairly complex server-side processing in PHP with a great deal of Client side javascript to handle, for instance, Google maps. The site uses a lot of Ajax and is based on the Tiny but Strong templating system - but I do use frameworks on other sites. The mix of Javascript and PHP development is pretty typical though and most of the sites I work on are very rich and bespoke (ie. not standard shopping cart or similar).

I'm using Dreamweaver at the moment, but only making use of it's editing and WYSIWYG features (eg. 95% of the time editing in code, but occasionally using the WYSIWYG for moving divisions around, editing elements etc. - and not using any of the Dreamweaver code generation or wizards). It works, has some strong features, but it's not ideal.

My ideal replacement IDE (or combination of tools) therefore requires...

1. A WYSIWYG editor that understands CSS. I don't use WYSIWYG that much, but I really appreciate having it.
2. PHP aware (code completion syntax coloring etc)
3. Javascript aware (ditto)

And the really nice to haves

1. Cross platform - with Linux being priority
2. Low bondage - I really don't want an IDE that forces me to work in a particular way
3. Python aware
4. Integerated - I always use a templating system of one form or another, so it's not a requirement to handle PHP and Javascript/HTML in the same page, but being in the same IDE would be a plus (even with the nice large dual monitor setup I have)
5. JQuery aware

I've looked around fairly extensively, including past questions here, and I've yet to find anything that quite fits my requirements. The WYSIWYQ facility seems to be the most difficult, but the ability to handle both PHP and Javascript is also tricky.

Answer 1

For PHP and JS check out Aptana Studio. It is based on top of Eclipse and is really good.

Answer 2

You might want to check out KompoZer: http://www.kompozer.net/

I have no idea how capable it is, but it might be the WYSIWYG editor you're looking for.

Answer 3

Zend Studio is also another good one to try out. Again It is based on top of Eclipse and is really good if you are going to be doing some enterprise scale php with Zend Framework or other PHP Frameworks.

Answer 4

You could also try the Netbeans 6.5, it has full PHP support.

Answer 5

for free, Netbeans is really goood. Right now Aptana is having issues with on the PHP side of things, but they will be getting that sorted out... so if that is extremely important, I told you so first. However, the whole WYSIWYG isn't really missed much in Aptana, the way they have two browser views available to look at your project makes it unneeded.

Komodo Edit is a great little free tool. It does a lot of everything except debugging, but again there is no WYSIWYG... but code completion is top notch. The IDE cost a hefty price, but the Open Komodo project is interesting. Komodo is built on top of the Mozilla engine and since they have stated open themselves up to Open Source, who knows what that feature will bring.

Notepad++ is nice tool that can be extremely useful as well. It has the capability to debug if you want that.

I honestly find that I use a combination of different tools, right now I am usually using Komodo IDE and notepad++. notepad++ is nifty so i can have more files open and reference them without crowding up what i really need an IDE for.