PHP is among the most used scripting languages and is responsible for 77% of all websites whose server-side data is available. Developers trust it because it provides out-of-the-box speed performance. For example, web apps made with this server side scripting language are blazingly fast & highly scalable.
It also provides several world-class PHP development tools like IDEs, code editors, debugging tools, and many more. This means, when you hire dedicated PHP developers they do not have to start the project from scratch.
They can simply use the best PHP tools to fast-track the development process. Tons of libraries and frameworks further makes it a widely adopted technology. However, there’s an abundance of too many tools in the market, which makes it difficult to choose the best ones for the project.
Here are 7 PHP Development Tools You Can Trust
- Aptana Studio
Aptana Studio is a popular web development IDE and supports JavaScript, HTML, DOM, and CSS with code completion. The technology tool is one of a kind as it provides a stable integrated development environment and helps to quickly build web applications. It can be deployed with various frontend and backend technologies like PHP, Python, HTML5, and many more. As a high-performance PHP IDE, it includes several standard features focussed on raising the productivity of the developer’s team.
Aptana Studio Features:
- Support Git Integration
- Based on Eclipse
- Provides IDE Customization
- Comes with an integrated debugger
- Reliable deployment wizard
- Compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and Plugin for Eclipse
- PhpStorm
When listing the top PHP development tools, you cannot neglect PhpStorm. It is a standard IDE that works well with a range of libraries and frameworks, including Laravel, CakePHP, Symfony, and many more. It is also compatible with eCommerce content management systems like Magento & WordPress. Choosing to hire dedicated PHP programmers with experience in this technology can prove beneficial for CMS based projects.
PhpStorm Features:
- Offers intelligent code editing
- Compatible with Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows
- Reliable support for native encoding
- Integrable with databases, command line tools, version control systems, etc.
- Sublime Text
When looking for the best PHP development tool, Sublime Text is a valuable option to consider. It is a handy text editor that lets developers run the code directly with the web application. This makes it ideal for managing small and big web development projects. As a cross-platform source code editor, it provides extensive support for several programming and markup languages. PHP developers can use it for web applications, system automation, ML, deep learning, and data analysis projects.
Sublime Text Features:
- Support column selection and multi-select editing.
- Syntax highlight and high-contrast display.
- In-editor code building.
- Compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux platform
- PHPDebugbar
As the name suggests, the PHPDebugbar is a debugging tool that proves useful in a range of applications. It has two key sections: the mainDebugBar object & data collectors and the render. This PHP tool also comes with a pre-configured built-in set of collectors. It easily integrates with different types of projects and can exhibit profiling data from any section of the application. Developers can use it for inspecting any CSS element, monitoring the network, and also for checking the JavaScript code.
PHPDebugbar Features:
Helps to manage network traffic
Easily integrates with projects
Log & debug directly to Debugbar
Quick & easy to use interface
Compatible with PHP, Ruby, .Net and Java
- CodeLobster
CodeLobster is a handy debugging tool that allows PHP programmers to validate the code locally. It can automatically detect the current server settings and configure the corresponding files so you can use the debugger. This helps to debug the application in a streamlined manner and eases a significant share of the developer’s load. It is compatible with most PHP frameworks, such as Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, and others.
CodeLobster Features:
- Compatible with various platforms including Windows, Fedora, Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, Mac OS, Mint
- Support for CMSes like Drupal, WordPress, Magento, and Joomla
- Offers syntax highlighting and also code validation
- Completely free to use PHP development tool
- Zend Studio
Zend Studio can prove worthy of use if you are looking for an all-in-one PHP development tool. Engineers can use this IDE to make high-quality applications with faster development cycles. Writing and debugging application code using Zend helps to save time and does not require extra effort. It streamlines both PHP debugging and code editing operations.
Zend Studio Features:
- Acts as debugging and PHP profiler
- Speeds up root cause analysis of problems detected
- Support for Docker & Eclipse Plugin
- Compatible with Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS
- Integrable with popular technologies
- NetBeans
NetBeans is a lightweight PHP development tool and works as an excellent code editor. It can highlight the source code in both ways: syntactically and semantically. It helps to build high-performance web applications and is compatible with various PHP frameworks like Symfony 2, CakePHP, Zend, and others.
NetBeans Features:
- Helps with syntax highlighting, code completion, occurrence highlighting, etc.
- Developers can perform PHP code debugging with xdebug
- Compatible with Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Solaris
- Provides PHP and also HTML enhancements
- Deploys seamlessly to Zend Server
Wrapping Up
Various PHP development tools are available on the market. The ones listed above are just a few of the handful. The right tools can help to quickly complete the development project and build high-quality solutions. It also ensures a streamlined development process and allows developers to focus on integrating business logic into the application.
Whether you are building web applications or some other IT solution, hire PHP developers with hands-on experience in a range of technologies. They can select the right technology tools based on the precise project requirements.
