# PHP beginner



## knighthawk (Mar 12, 2004)

I just started looking into PHP and have been reading the documentation available at www.php.net throughout the week.  This weekend, I need to start on a pretty simple website that will use forms and pulling info from other websites into dynamic web pages.  Thankfully, I do not need to start with MySQL databases.

So, my question for you Mac OS X PHP gurus is, what code editor do you use most for PHP programming?  I am planning on using XCode, unless there are any disadvantages that you can enlighten me with.  

Also, are there any syntax checkers and/or debuggers for PHP for OS X, or is it more of a trial an error process for now?

Regarding my PHP development phase, I will be using an external server that is already setup for PHP and will not be testing this on my local machine.  Not that I do not want to have a local system, but I need to get *work* done instead of just trying to host it on my OS X 10.3.2 system.


----------



## imbrokn (Mar 13, 2004)

Look into Zend Studio: http://www.zend.com/store/evaluation.php?pid=77&download=1

That is probably the only development environment that you are going to find specifically for PHP. They do have a 30 day free trial, so you can give it a try and see if you like it. But really all you need is any text editor. You can find some free ones on the Apple Download site, but also if you are willing to spend some money look into Macromedia Dreamweaver, they have syntax highlighting for PHP which is useful, but they also have a pretty big price tag, PHP studio is cheaper, and probably more feature rich for just PHP stuff. Dreamweaver has support for many different programming languages, so the support for each language may not be as robust. Really, it is matter of preference, though. If you are a unix person, you can use VIM which I like using sometimes too.


----------



## naodx (Mar 13, 2004)

Yes I must admit I think VIM rules.... 

I do all my programming using vim, if you set it up right it will handle just about any language you can throw at it.


----------



## knighthawk (Mar 13, 2004)

I have been working with the XCode Developer Tools and they are working out quite well.  Because PHP is a C-like language, it is automatically color-coded even though I am not even running PHP Server on my local machine.

I already have the shell of my website completed, now I just need to work on the content.

When I have more free time (I am on a time budget to get this site up and running), I will look into the code editors you suggested.

Thanks everyone.


----------



## kainjow (Mar 13, 2004)

XCode's too clunky for that and slow. BBEdit is much better (I think the free Lite version is still available). So many good features


----------



## azrad (Mar 15, 2004)

Me, i vote for BBEdit... unfortunately, Lite version is not avaialable anymore if not mistaken.


----------



## Arden (Mar 16, 2004)

SubEthaEdit is a great editor that supports PHP-specific syntax coloring, line numbering that doesn't count wrapped lines as separate lines, and a collaborative mode in which multiple people can work on the same document(s) at the same time.

Do you know how you're going to go about learning to code in PHP?  Currently, I've got a book caled PHP and MySQL Web Development, and it's pretty good (though I'm not that far into it).  You should look into a book if you can afford it (or go to the library).


----------



## evildan (Mar 16, 2004)

I gotta go with BBEdit... It works out well... xCode is a bit of an overkill to load for just PHP scripting. I haven't tried VIM.


----------



## podmate (Mar 16, 2004)

BBEdit here.  Its got PHP and SQL syntax coloring if you want.


----------



## wnowak1 (Mar 16, 2004)

I like VIM


----------

