I am looking for a full blown php studio. I am fairly new to php. I am switching over from Vb.net and I haven't been able to find a editor that is comparable to Visual Studio 2005. Right now I am using PhpEd and might stick to it unless I can find something better. The debuggers work pretty well on all of the programs except for Eclipse it's way to too complicated. You have to create a debugging profile for each php file you want to debug with bunch of settings to choose from. VS would automatically tab the line of code to where they should be in the loop. With PhpEd I notice myself spending more than trying to make sure that line of code tabbed into the right spot. PhpEd does it but only for a new line of code. If I go back and start a new line it will leave the code where I started typing it. I have tried all of these: PhpDesigner - keeps losing my auto correct settings. Eclipse - way too complex Vs.php - Didn't like it. Can't remember why. PhpEd - doesn't have a shortcut for adding phpdocs comments like phpdesigner. Also the color coding is pretty lame compared to PhpDesigner. What do you guys use and why?
You can use Notepad++ if you want a free tool, however I use Dreamweaver 8. This is great tool for almost any web programming language...
Edit Pad Pro - The best I have ever used. Recursive search and replace, convert to unix/mac/winblows, even regex!
DOS edit or notepad, ouch man, that's like coding with one finger or riding a tricycle to work. lol. As far as debuggers, nothing works better than paying attention to detail, proper project planning, and turning error reporting to 2047.
I always use PSPad. It's free and has many features. I've been using it for years. Macromedia Dreamweaver is just too bulky and slow.
I use Zend Development Environment (For Mac) and it really saves me a lot of work. It's instant validation and obvious debugging features are a dream to work with. Pricy though
http://www.dzsoft.com/php-editor.html Leet PHP editor, i use it all the time to edit my FTP uploads :*) Have fun!
I use Rapid PHP 2006 ( out of date now ) but Zend is the best path if you have the money to buy it as it costs quite a bit, i think.
I use Eclipse/PDT or gEdit, both customised heavily with plugins. Care to explain? (e.g. is the problem setting up the workspace, using it etc.) It can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. I remember first using it when I would just have two panes (the editor and a navigator) and then gradually got accustomed to it.
A simple text editor would be sufficient, don't think I need any sophisticated PHP editor. Sometimes it can make things worse.