Editor used for PHP

[Bunkermaster]

Hi all,

as I was reading this http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10209795 I wondered what editor you guys use in your OS.

I run Windows ( :eek: ). I edit my code in the MSE (Microsoft Script Editor - Word macro editor - really the core of the Visual Studio hidden in MSWord and thus free of charge :D Weeeee!) the PHP syntax coloring sucks but It's HTML coloring is great and there are a lot of interesting features (autocompletion... you know).

What's your OS and what do you use?

Please, not VI I know it's the best text editor in the world...
:rolleyes:
[escape]:wq!

[xentrix]

Windows are my OS and I used PHPEd as the editor. Now I mostly use CodePad. The best syntax colouring is in Homesite but this editor is not free :-(

[largo]

I agree, Homesite has great syntax highlighting -- but PHPEd isn't free either, so what're you trying to tell us xentrix? :)

[Bunkermaster]

busted :D

[xentrix]

Largo: Iīm sorry I have some old version thatīs still free ;-) But Codepad is free surely! ;-)

[jernhenrik]

Has anyone tried conText???

http://fixedsys.com/context/

[xentrix]

It looks interesting, thanks for the tip to download ;-)

[dannys]

I use UltraEdit - supports highlighting for just about every language under the sun - very stable and, now that i'm used to it, I can't really stand anything else.

[psy]

http://editplus.com/

i think its a fixation since when i went to a tech school, this is all we used to code in.. my fav thing about editplus is that it has the file-explorer frame to the left, so i dont have to spend time opening files with the dialog (im a lazy ****)

plus it supports any templates, and you can make your own-> so it can basically syntax highlight ANY language, from XML to actionscript to qbasic (if you wanted)

it also has a lot of useless crap, which is its best feature :rolleyes:

oh yeah, with html docs -> it has an internal browser to make editing simple, screen shots = http://editplus.com/screen.html

[cr33]

os 9.2.2 BBedit Lite 6

[Bunkermaster]

Jafa cr33!

;)

[tshafer]

I run Win XP Professional with PHP 4.2.3 configured as an ISAPI module for IIS 5.1.

I use SourceEdit, a free scripting editor with some basic highlighting.

It supports syntax/highliting for :

ASP, PHP, SQL, C++, C#, ColdFusion, CSS, HTML, Java, Pascal, Perl, Visual Basic, and XML.

[tshafer]

oh yeah, you can check it out a www.sourceedit.com

[Bunkermaster]

didn't know ESPN.com had a php forum ;) (alt+printscreen snapshots the client area only and not the whole screen)

[stuartc1]

I use PHP Edit (not PHPEd), PHP Edit is 100% free and has some great features like code hylighting, integrated debugging and auto complete. Its beta versions a great, but a little buggy at times.
I agree that homesite is pretty damn good (I use to use Coldfusion Studio), I like the fact it has an extended find and replace - lots of others seem to forget this feature can be handy.

Eh.. yeh.. my OS is Win NT and I run PHP 4.1.2.

PHPEdit is at http://www.phpedit.com

[Bunkermaster]

PHPEdit had a banner contest (think they're french right?) here is a funny one

http://ads.phpedit.net/storage/PHPEdit-YorT.gif

[stuartc1]

its a good attempt - very original don't you think?

[Bunkermaster]

indeed.

[xentrix]

Hehe :-)))
Very nice banner ;-)

[greg252]

OS X 1.5 -- BBedit

[Tekime]

Originally posted by Bunkermaster
PHPEdit had a banner contest (think they're french right?) here is a funny one

http://ads.phpedit.net/storage/PHPEdit-YorT.gif

Hehe.. I actualy ran across that one recently too. Hey... sex sells, right?

At any rate, I use a program called HTML-Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/). It's actually a very powerful program, I can't even begin to list all the features it encompasses. It's 100% free now too, but really the big reason I use it is because it has a built in FTP browser, so I can work on files directly off my development server from any location.

I haven't been able to find another program that really integrated an FTP browser into the editor interface; if anybody knows of such a program I would be extremely interested in some more info. It's a feature I cannot live without now, and although I'm very fond of HTML-Kit, I'd be interested to see some competing software.

edit: Oh yes, this on on my main Win98 & 2k boxes. I think they are developing a Linux ver., although it has been succesfully tested under WINE. When on my Slackware box I mostly just use VI.

[dannys]

Both EditPlus and UltraEdit can open/save files over FTP. I'm sure there are plenty more.

[Tekime]

I'm not sure I have tried UltraEdit, but I used to use Editplus. As far as I can remember, there was no integrated FTP browser. By integrated with the IDE, I mean that you can create folders in your explorer bar that you can navigate like local folders. This screenshot (http://www.chamisplace.com/asp/showpic.asp?src=/i/hkkb/hk292_win98.png&title=Windows%2098) might clarify what I mean.

Or did I just miss the one real feature I can't seem to find in all the IDE's I've used?? :confused:

[dannys]

That is quite integrated - UltraEdit only displays local and network drives in the files list.

All the files I work on are on networked drives anyway, so I don't have to suffer FTP at all :)

[Tekime]

Well at home, I have my web folders mounted locally via Samba. But I do so much work on my server from remote locations, it really cuts into my development time when simply opening a file is a 3 or 4 step process.

HTML-Kit is a great app, but I'm just surprised I haven't seen this is any of the numerous editors I have tried. I actually like the 'feel' of Editplus a little better, though.

[dannys]

I'll submit it, as a feature request, to the UltraEdit developers and see what they say.

[piersk]

I tried using PHP Edit for a bit, but I had problems when testing using apache on the same machine. Now I use AnyEdit (http://www.anyedit.org). Ok, its still in its alpha state, but its very very good.

[HolyDiver]

I do most of my coding on Linux using vim and when I have to work on windows I use maguma light.
cheers,
-hkn

[bealers]

I used Homesite for about 2 years, but then I ditched windows 100%

I flirted with Quanta and Bluefish bit I'm a recent Vim convert, it's very powerful....though I'm only just scratching the surface

[stuartc1]

Whats so good about this vim everyone is banging on about ? and is it available for windows ?

[jmcneese]

www.vim.org

[Bunkermaster]

is VIM a VI spinoff? If so then I understand why peeps like it :)
In my days I gave trainings on how to use VI with just 2 normal hands ;)

[jstarkey]

VIM == 'VI Improved'

It's great if you like syntax highlighting and splitting the window.

[riotbob]

Sorry I just posted another thread before I saw this one. What do you guys think about Dreamweaver MX? It is the first tiem I have seen a visual designer for people that do PHP/MySQL. Seems to do great on the visual side and not mess with your custom code on the coding side. Looks like the best of both worlds. Plus the speed of writing is blowing me away. Teh database integration is awesome!

- Christopher

[dannys]

If, like me, you've been raised on ASCII editors and are used to separating the presentation (i.e. HTML) layer from the code (using Smarty or such like) then you'll find Dreamweaver damned fricken irritating - the GUI gets right in the way and it still doesn't produce XHTML1.0 compliant code. It's not exactly cheap either.

I say bar humbug to those newfangled whizz-bang didgeridoos - give me UltraEdit, brainpower and the PHP Manual any day! :)

[jstarkey]

Originally posted by dannys
then you'll find Dreamweaver damned fricken irritating - the GUI gets right in the way and it still doesn't produce XHTML1.0 compliant code. It's not exactly cheap either.


Aaaaactually, a friend corrected me on this about 1 1/2 years ago. If you KNOW how to use Dreamweaver, then it will produce compliant code.

He's now a Homesite user :confused:

[jmcneese]

i use dreamweaver mx as well. all previous versions of DW pissed me off, but DMX is well written, not buggy and the PHP/MySQL server behaviours are quite nice.

[cahva]

Hmmm.... Doesnt anyone use Jext? I think its great allthought it is a bit slow bcos its made in java. Theres also little bugs in it, but I like its simplicity. Its more like a javaprogrammers tool, but I also program in Java so it doesnt matter :-)

If you guys wanna check it out then point your browser to: jext.org (http://www.jext.org)

[stuartc1]

I used DMX for a week or so, while building a GUI in HTML/PHP.
Thought it was pretty good, well that was untill it locked all my files and made me loose about 4 hours of hard work. Needless to say I promptly uninstalled it. (it was only a trial version anyway) so no money lossed.
May use it again in the future (if my company gets its dosh out), and the full version is less buggy.

[netizen]

I had been using HomeSite since day, really pleased with that product. So after Macromedia I migrated to Dreamweaver. I didn't like Dreamweaver 4 as it didn't support php code, but with the upgrade to MX, I found I'm liking it more and more. I wish there were some features from HomeSite included, but maybe they will be more integrated with the next version.

Only problem(s) I have with DMX is 1. it is a resource hog. My poor home machine whines. No problem with the one at work. :) 2. It is annoying when the connection to the server is lost that it pops up a window advising you of that fact. And sometimes if you goto save at the same time as it's about to bug out, you have to cancel the save and wait for it to fully disconnect. With HomeSite it was transparent and when you went to upload it'd just reconnect.

Over all though, I'm pleased with it.

[nashirak]

Dang it am I the only ole' school guy here (shurley not). Emacs + Linux (Debian) completely GNUed out .

:)

The only editor that has a phycologist on hand to help you out.
M-X doctor

and if you get bored can play games such as

M-X donnet
and
M-X gomoku

so C-X C-C if you dont have it :)

also check your mail read your news... the next install ment will even drink mountain dews and go to the restroom for you. :)

[jstarkey]

Nah, you're not the only one. I'm spoiled by broadband, I just log in to the remote and open vi.

I tried Zend Studio and it's just not there yet - i'm still quicker in vi.

emacs? Nah, I don't like Mt Dew

:D


I found that my problems with Zend Studio were due to my connection.

[Bunkermaster]

do NOT try to use emacs if not sober, the finger/key combination might trigger the Torvald Easter Egg :eek:

the dreamweaver ultimate feature list :
http://www.eeggs.com/tree/264.html

and my favorite :
http://www.eeggs.com/items/16437.html <-- lookie :D

[nashirak]

did I mention the next version comes with a breathalizer? :-D

[dar-k]

I use Dreamweaver MX or Notepad, depending on how large/complicated a document is.

I'm still stuck with Windows but that might change eventually.

[nightowl]

I use TextPad for Windows and QuantaPlus for Linux - both are good.

[SpasePeepole]

I'm surprised no one has said EmEditor. I love it!
http://www.emurasoft.com/emeditor3/index.htm

[hawkoflight]

Hi guys!

I use the Maguma Studio light for php. It is free of charge and has nice features like a debuger, auto-wrap etc.

Have a look at : http://www.maguma.com

HawkOfLight

[shaun_s]

I'm johns friend who use to use dreamweaver. I used Dreamweaver as a learning tool, I basicly used dreamweaver to learn HTML. Do something in the editor and check the source to see what code it wrote.

I swore by dreamweaver for the longest time. I used 1,2,3,4, and DW4DE never used MX. I use pretty much nothing but homesite and ultraedit now. Dreamweaver is a good editor, and can produce compliant html, the thing is you kinda have to teach dreamweaver how to do it. You have to play with the preffrences, till it behaves the way you want.

Many of its features are pretty sweet, it a good editor for projects with more then one developer. Its template feature set is a god send in a situation where theres more then one person developing, provided everyone knows how to use it.

My all time favorite feature which I still to this day use, is dreamweaver can import a delimited text file, and table it for you in less then 10 seconds. I've yet to find another application that will do this, if anyone knows of one pls post a link.

I kinda grew out of dreamweaver, I got fed up with trying to make dreamweaver behave the way I wanted, in the long run it cost me more time, for a while I use to use DW for tables (when I was still a newbie *wink*), I'm now a Grandmaster Table coder lol. If you don't play Everquest you won't get the Grandmaster joke hehe.

As far as php support, like I said I never used MX so before it was released I had allready switched to homesite and ultraedit perminantly. I've yet to find an application that can help you write PHP like homesite helps you write HTML. Again if anyone knows of any such app post a link.

I appoligize for the long post, I can talk about dreamweaver for days lol.

[Kris McCraw]

Been using HotDog Profesional for 5 years on Windows 95/98.
I've been programming HTML since 97 with it and when I recently upgraded to the new version was happy to find it supports php, java, css, has made the last few months of learning PHP very easy because it knows the syntext better than I do.

http://www.sausage.com/

[Bunkermaster]

hehe I remember I was using HoTMetaLPro back in 96 :D thank God none of the pages I was puking at that time remains ;)

[Bunkermaster]

hehe I remember I was using HoTMetaLPro back in 96 :D thank God none of the pages I was puking at that time remains ;)

[$SuperString]

HotMetalPro, that takes me back to about '96 too, ooh what fond memories .... not.
At the moment I am stuck for a good editor, I have tried about 20 in the last 6 months and still looking for a decent one.

Today Im using PHP Edit V0.6 (stable) :(

Here is what I would like to see in a PHP Editor:
1. Syntax Highlight support for HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP.
2. File Manager on the side (dockable).
3. Code Structure thingy (shows methods, variables and classes)
4. Extended find and replace with regular expression support.
5. Integrated Debugger.
6. Configurable Macros/Toolbar operations with creation support.
7. Code Block commenting.
8. Sytax Indentation support (as a toolbar option and hot key)
9. Live syntax checking.
10. Multiple page editing .
11. Code block popping/ were you can expand blocks of code like komodo.
12. Code split screen, like homesite.
13. No Cost.

So a mixture of Homesite, Dreamweaver MX, PHP Edit and Komodo. but free.

Anyone who can suggest anything resembling this is a superstar.

[gid]

I'm also using vim under linux, but I also use vim under windows as well just to have a consistent editor. I made a screenshot for the curious here (under linux):

http://paradise.qooqle.com/pics/vim.png

The code is from my opensource web jukebox program called Room Juice. Just google for it if you're interested.

[Sxooter]

Pico or vim under RH Linux 7.2

What, can't any of you younguns code without color syntax highlighting?? ;)

[$SuperString]

yes, yes, would'nt it be great if we could all code without colour highlighting ??:rolleyes:
Well answer this Sxooter - if you had to travel 10 miles over a mountain and a bus was ready to take you. Would you turn round and say NO, i'll just walk (because i'm a big professional) ?

[Bunkermaster]

He who walks the path of the true believer will prolly walk in a dog turd from time to time :D

[gid]

I'm not exactly youngin by php coding standards, but I prefer syntax highlighting because it helps me catch, well, sytax errors. Means less going back and forth, oops misplaced quote here, unmatched parens there, dang, mispelled that function there.

Thanks to syntax highlighting, it's not uncommon for me to write an entire page of php and have it work and be syntactically correct the first time.

[Sxooter]

If I was out for a hike, I would definitely say no thanks, I'm out for a hike. I've done it before, I'll do it again. And when you fall over in your easy chair from a heart attack with a big hand ful of cheetos stuffed in your mouth, I'll be glad to come and mourn your passing. and I'll still enjoy hiking.

Besides, you ever smelled some of those busses? The inside makes a locker room after a game smell sweet and purty. Plus I've never fallen over a cliff, but plenty of busses go right through the guard rail every day.

Seriously though, I've found that color highlighting causes eye strain for me if it's there all the time, and while I do occasionally miss a quote mark, I've found that by doing things a little differently, I don't do it very often. for instance, I've taught all my programmers that when they create a code block inside {} brackets, they should complete the brackets first, then write the function. I.e. you do this:

[code]
function bubbas_house(cars_on_blocks,applicances){

}
[\code]

THEN write what's inside the curly brackets so you don't forget to write one or where it goes at the end.

When I want color coding, I just ln -s mypage.html mypage.phps and view that.

[gid]

Seriously though, I've found that color highlighting causes eye strain for me if it's there all the time

I wonder why this is. Is it because some colors don't contrast as well as others against the background. Actually, most of the time, I'm using vi remotely these days because files are, not available via samba or whatever, so I'll use console vim, which incidentally has better contrasting colors than gvim in my previous screenshot. http://paradise.qooqle.com/pics/vim_console.png

Still with these better contrasting colors, I find my eyes quite bloodshot at the end of the day. Maybe I'll try without syntax highlighting for awhile and see how I fare.

Oh, and I used to use pico until I figured out it was changing dos carriage returns to unix carriage returns. Naughty naughty pico. So now I use nano instead. Besides, pico is a pain to install on a Debian box anyway because of it's non-free nature.

[danielle]

wow that vim looks so hectic to me. i think i would have a panic attack looking at that all day.

i use homesite/cold fustion studio. i like the color coding in that... i'm a little spastic with the typing so when i spell a function name wrong i know right away. i the preferences let you modify them to your liking.

by the way, if anyone has an educational discount the macromedia mx studio is a great deal at $200. it comes with Dreamweaver MX, Macromedia Flash MX, Fireworks MX, FreeHand 10, and ColdFusion MX Developer Edition.

i saw that some people do coding in dreamweaver -- i'm a little afraid of letting dreamweaver do anything with code but i have heard that the mx version has pretty good code/db integration.

[Bunkermaster]

gimme some walking shoes, a staff and a can of mountain dew and i'll walk from frisco to tahoe :D
but i understand that VIM can cause severe trauma to the sight brain functions looking at the interface...

[gid]

Originally posted by Bunkermaster

but i understand that VIM can cause severe trauma to the sight brain functions looking at the interface...

well crap, that explains a lot about me then, now doesn't it?

[Bunkermaster]

sad but true... what i use to code is I print my code, i write notes on sheet and then i scan it and pass it through a top notch OCR and i save it as php :D

[Sxooter]

Bunkermeister, are you related to Piers Anthony? I remember reading a long time ago in a foreword for a Xanth novel that his favorite method for writing was to go out to the old wood shed and write in pencil on a yellow legal pad, then afterwards, input it by hand into a computer. This was in the days of the Kaypro and such...

I just get out a small magnet and change the bits on the hard drive as they fly by. Make sure no one opens a window and lets in any dust while you're doing this though.

[lainmurf]

Here is another great Text Editor that is free, It does pretty well with color coding PHP and you can download a couple of plugins for php. I like it because (with the plugin) it has just about any code you could need in php for any type of script. For those of you who know what the HTML-Kit is, you know what I'm talking about, and for those of you who just want to see it, go here:

http://www.chami.com and look for the HTML-Kit.... You'll like it :D

[ccrowder]

Cool! someone else uses Context. I've been using it for several years. I've used it for PHP, Perl, and html. I probably made a grocery list or two with it.

Chris


Originally posted by jernhenrik
Has anyone tried conText???

http://fixedsys.com/context/

[tha_mink]

For those of you who know what the HTML-Kit is, you know what I'm talking about,
I keep trying to push HTML-kit. Built in FTP support so you press ctl-s and boom...file uploaded. the syntax highlighting is great and it supports plug ins. I use if for everything I write...java, c++, html, php, asp etc. It is a really great code tool for me. I suppose the only thing that would make it better is to have built in php support (pipe dream) to test scripts. But since the save/upload is a keystroke away...It's almost like haveing the ability to preview stuff on the fly. I love it and fully recommend it for win folks.

For unix development I use Nedit. It kinda sucks but...I just hate VI and emacs. I would love to hear of a better unix code tool.


PS...BEOS has eddi. It really rocks but alas, no room and little use for the Beos anymore.

[ednark]

anyone use EditPad Pro

you can use it as a trial....

1) open multiple documents in one window...

2) good syntax highlighting....

3) perl style regular expression search/replace

4) multiple document search/reaplce


5) and a nifty little thing emacs does also, auto-indenting

im not familiar with all the others out there so im not sure if they all have the same abilities...

btw, emacs for windows rules also..

[Jayson]

Nobody uses Notepad on windows???? :D On Windows that's what I use. On Unix I use Emacs.

[$SuperString]

I use notepad (when im stuck for anything else that is).
You cant complain about notepad, it does exactly what it says on the tin !!

[michael]

I like notepad, edit and pico on linux.

I use macromedia homesite when I'm in need of a little search and replace action.

[rebelo]

Originally posted by dannys
I use UltraEdit - supports highlighting for just about every language under the sun - very stable and, now that i'm used to it, I can't really stand anything else.

I am with you, dude. UltraEdit is the mad shiz0w. I even purchased the license because I am so happy with it. Ian is not only a really good developer though, he's a great business man as well. Any time I have had problems or lost my reg code, he has been prompt with always getting back to me withing the day (sometimes the hour!).

www.ultraedit.com is the site and I recommend everyone try it out.

When in Linux, as I always used to be before I got the job I am currently doing, I used a gtk app called Glimmer. It's almost as good as Ultraedit but the interface isn't quite as slick. glimmer.sf.net.

Cheers

[Tekron-X]

I must say I am old fassion I use Note Pad I just can't find an editor that I like so I satay with note pad but if anyone can find one that is like note pad but with highlighting for PHP and HTML only I will be happy but that is all I want is highliting. Don't even say VIM I hate that to death.

Oh I am also running windows XP Home on my comp and if worse comes to worse I use the Command line editor all you have to do is open the cammand line and type edit and it pops up that is nice to use to :)

[Bunkermaster]

OMG DOS edit? :eek:

XP's notepad has a nice goto line feature now though :D

use the MSE (noone uses it except me LOL)

[Tekron-X]

Yea Dos Edit it is the cleanest writing text editer around on widows especialy for scripts lol :) But notepad is nice but I will check out the MSE .:)

[gid]

Originally posted by Tekron-X
Don't even say VIM I hate that to death.

For all your vi haters out there, you might be able to still use vim. http://cream.sf.net/ it's vim without the vi! :)

[Tekron-X]

Still hate VIM to death LOL I will never use it. I tried that cream thing and now it dosn't even highlight anything find something simpler for me remember I am oldfassion I use Notepad and dos edit :D

[gid]

Yeah, the last time I used cream it still had some issues with it. I kinda hoped they would have been smoothed out by now.

Personally I use bare vim with a few tweaks such as toning down tab size from 8 to 4 spaces. I hate 8 space tabs, especially with php code because you're intenting so much.

[Tekron-X]

I like to indent 3 Spaces :D
Alot neater but I need to find a editor for php only or one that you can ser up for php and Html only :)

[DwarV]

i use TextPad or notepad offcourse
it also has text-cploring,
also you can download modules into the text editor, and macro's
like creating HTML tables from plain text...

[rem]

I'm using vi (or elvis, vim, or whatever vi-compatible editor) on linux boxes.
With windows, I use ultraedit, and frontpage (!) to 'prototype' the design.

BtW, I've discovered Smarty (http://smarty.php.net) some times ago and I like it.

Ultraedit has a syntax coloration extension to understand html+smarty in it, and it looks good.

[Tekron-X]

Found a really nice php editor :) it is called Winsyntax you can get it here

http://www.winsyntax.com/

it is nice the only problem is that you must save the file as php before it will hilight the code :( and the colors arn't the best but it works :) nice and simple.

[exponder]

I also use PHP-Edit. It's a great program. I use to do all of my coding in anything I could write in. And do debug tests, if it worked it worked, if It didn't... yeah. heh

I run both winXp pro, and Linux on a partioned western digital caviar HD.

[Tekron-X]

you guys should try out winsyntax it is my new editor of choice :)

[exponder]

I tired the winsyntax out, it's pretty good. Like you said, nice and simple. And I like the file manager. But, I agree the coloring isn't that great.

Other than that, It's good.. and free which is always a plus.

[Tekron-X]

Yea the coloring isn't the greatest but it gets the job done and you can't messit up easily and not as many buggs b/c it is simple Not that I am computer illiterate it is just that I am old fashion and like stuff that does it's job without a hassle. :)

[wilsonodk]

I use Dreamweaver MX on Mac (at work) and WinXP (at home).
It does code completion for PHP and color-syntaxing.
I code valid XHTML 1.0 on it all the time, straight out of the box.

I used to use Homesite (on PC, on Mac DW4 but it sucks for pure coding), but now I find that DreamweaverMX beats the pants off Homesite. It can do everything Homesite could and more, IMHO.

It is a resource hog, like all the Macromedia MX products,
but so is Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop :)
and since i rarely have anything else open but a couple of browsers when coding it doesn't much bother me :)

[Tekron-X]

Yea that is cool but code completion may save on errors but it gets anoying at times to believe me I program in VB 6.0 Also a big problem with those editors is that they cost money I love open source software and freeware. :)

[clintonium]

Currently I'm using Homesite on Win2K professional. I've used Notepad, VI, UltraEdit, TextPad, and Dreamweaver in the past. I have to say that TextPad is a sentimental favorite, but I had to give it up for something more robust.

Homesite's extended search and replace is great in v5.0 (not so reliable in previous versions). The syntax highlighting is good, but it's a shame you can't define custom templates/rules.

I'll have to check out some of the freeware editors mentioned here, like ConTEXT, PHPEdit, and SourceEdit. PHPEd sounds more and more attractive in spite of the price tag. I'm surprised not to see a single endorsement of Zend Studio though. Maybe I won't have to spend time checking it out yet...

[Hikari]

Hum, looks like I'm one of the few that use Notepad for my PHP editing. Its got a small memory footprint, and on XP works like wordpad on other 9x os'. I find editors take up my entire screen with all sorts of **** I don't need. I'm never doing only one thing at a time, so notepad works great with 4 or 5 open, all viewable at once :p

But, I do admit sometimes I use WordPad, it replaces alot faster and loads large scripts way faster than notepad. However when pasting code from other sources it takes the formatting with it, so its kinda a nusance.

If I'm on nix I use pico *shrug*

[Bunkermaster]

u don't use regexp search and replace? :eek:

[unistar]

http://www.phpedit.com/:eek:

[largo]

recently my system crashed, I dropped a pen in the open case and it went kaput. It's not funny guys....

Anyway, I went back to an old system lying around, it's running windows XP pro and had no editor installed. I had the choice of going with homesite, Ultraedit and various others recommended on this post. Quite a helpful post honestly as I tried a lot of the editors, so thx all.

At the end of the day however, HomeSite (4.5.2) was the pick of the litter. I'll probably try PHPEd before moving back to my original desktop, see how it runs on wintendo. It was quite slick on linux.

-m.

[jeremuck]

you did what?
*snarfle*








*rofl*
dropped a pen in the open case

[Tekron-X]

LAMO no that is funny droping a pen in an open computer case.

That Cracks me up. :D j/k

[Bunkermaster]

hmmmm LAMO as in LMAO? ;)

Pencil dropping is the first cause for early failure along with running in server room and tripping on a wire (preferebly the main server's power supply) and the ever so funny coffee mug poored on CPU (works with coffee or Montain dew cf.:http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10212506)

:)

I confess that I have to change my keyboard every now and then (6 month is my max record) because i do drop a lo of things in the keyboard (clipping devices, ashes from my cigars, stapples and my all time favorite, the coffee mug or the rum glass).

[clintonium]

Keith Edmunds maintains a pretty exhaustive list of PHP-friendly editors at:

http://www.itworks.demon.co.uk/phpeditors.htm

[largo]

True, I've spilt all kinds of stuff on my keyboard too -- however, it's been holding up since 96.. no jokes. Here is the real shocker though -- it's a Packard bell keyboard. :eek:

The open case thing does deserve a laugh I suppose, though I personally found it quite annoying.

Hmm, anyone here been able to run HomeSite via wine?

[jeremuck]

I once spilled coke all over my keyboard. It was a real problem, because of the stickiness. I pressed enter once, and I end up 20 lines down. Makes for buggy programming.

My dad suggested soaking in water.
It would have worked, I suppose (he's an EE), but I didn't do it.

[Hikari]

I've never actually had a huge amount of liquid pour into my keyboard, but I've had little drops of water and pop. But, my keyboard is a food/hair trap.

The base of every key is dirty, and looking between the keys you can see hair.. and endless dirt and crumbs. My old keyboard, I could take off the keys and clean them but not this one (I broke my old one cause when plugging it in, half asleep, I bent all the pins and they fell out.. cheap thing -wireless for me now.)

[Bunkermaster]

/me feels nauseous :eek:

[Mark]

gar:eek:

[philipolson]

http://www.jedit.org/

[jeremuck]

I don't know how people can stand java based text editors... I find them to be sluggish.

I used Jext for awhile, I really really like it's highlighting and it's concept of a word.

But the autocomplete stuff bothered me too much, it wasnt' very accurate and it would complete things that I didn't want completed. I even tried turning it off, but it did it anyway.
Also, you could only view one document at a time. You couldn't arrange two mini-windows side by side. Oh, and line numbering was a pain... it has a "gutter" on the left where the line numbers are, and you have to pull it out every single time.

Jedit doesn't appear to me much different, but I haven't used it very much. I did play enough to realize it has the same sluggishness Jext had.

I'm nearing the end of my trial with UltraEdit, and I think I'm going to purcahse it. The only things I don't like so far is the LF CR and CR/LF switching from DOS to UNIX doesn't seem to work, it doesn't support very good project collections (like in an explorer-type view), and the highlighting doesn't span multiple lines. It starts over at a new line, making it more difficult to spot mismatches quotes. It has a nifty hex edit mode.

I've tried Programmer's notepad, but it is kind of buggy. It had no auto-complete. The syntax highlighting was only OK. It would span over multiple lines (making it easy to see missing " mistakes), but it didn't have enough categories of different types of things. I didn't like it's concept of a word. Programmer's notepad also had a hex edit mode, which was cool.

There's one that looks a lot like VC++ editor called AnyEdit Professional, but it won't work for me :-( it crashes. It's a known problem that I the creator can't seem to fix.
It would be cool if there was a PHP higlighting module for VC++.

Xphp has Apache and PHP bundled into it, so you can debug on the fly. This seems nice, but it necessitates all dependencies being the same on your machine and your server. However, it doesn't have some interesting features: it has buttons along the top for common functions. Press the button, and the function call is inserted into your text for you. However, I already installed Apache and stuff on my local machine, I dont' want it twice. (The splash screen looks cool though).

[IceD]

Hey! And what's about FAR+Colorer??? Check http://rarsoft.com. FAR is on the main download page, and Colorer/ColorerLib is on the plugring page. These are the _BEST_ tools. Really. I'm using them about six years for all kind of coding (PHP/C/Perl/...)!

[philipolson]

I just briefly tried jext, it's okay. I love jedit and all the plugins. Yes java based editors can be sluggish but typically only upon load. When using it's fine. The only thing I miss is the function insight. For example, komodo and zendide have function insight which for example when you type mysql_connect( it'll show the prototype for that function. I started work on such a plugin for jedit but realized I don't know Java. Someone else was going to implement but it's not happened yet. Maybe one day...

In windows I prefer editplus. Ultraedit is a close second.

[lewzertolli]

Has anyone used Macromedia Dreamweaver MX? It has a MySQL/PHP option that sounds pretty cool (although I've yet to make it work properly).

[wilsonodk]

I use DreamweaverMX, and love it!

But, I'm a GUI guy, and love my Mac very much :D

[IWS]

Textpad all the way.

[Shadeless]

HAPedit works fine for me :) and it's free :)

http://hapedit.free.fr/

[MrRosary]

Vi

great syntax colouring and as fast as you like.

I even use Vi on Window$

MrRosary

[irish]

Work System: MacOS X w/ Apache 1.3/PHP 4.2.2/MySQL 3.23

Work Editor: BBEdit 7.0 (http://www.barebones.com/) - I can't say enough about this editor. Full PCRE grep search/replace, open/save directly from/to ftp server, CLI tools, highlighting, etc....best editor on a mac hands down.

Home System: WinXP w/ Apache 2/PHP 4.1.2/MySQL 3.23

Home Editor: HTML-Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/) - This is a free 'web IDE' that has highlighting for a wide variety of languages, as well as a pretty decent backing of plugin developers. It has HMTL code completion but not really for PHP, so it may not be the best, but I like the all around features none the less.

[Elizabeth]

Notepad/Wordpad combo all the way. That is what I learned PHP & HTML on... and now I also use Dreamweaver, although I know it has it's faults- I still love it like a dysfunctional child.

I think that learning with notepad/wordpad is the best way to go... it's like eating saltines for a year, and then suddenly someone puts a big bowl of chocolate pudding in front of you. Yeah, it's not perfect and it will probably make you sick, but WOW you are SO impressed with how much better it is than what you had.

I still code PHP in notepad/wordpad but I'm considering taking the plunge and getting that chocolate pudding as it were.

Some good PHP Editor ideas on here.. thanks!

-Elizabeth

[Tekron-X]

I learned on NotePad but I like winsyntax its only downfall is the color schemes but the editor is just like notepad. I am going to try out Xphp not sure if I will like it. I also like the dos editor go to the windows command line and type edit :)

But if I don't like Xphp I am going to use either winsyntax or notepad :)

[LoGiK]

I do it all from my head *SKILL* lol

[-leliel-]

Hi,

i use UltraEdit or MED for editing.

both supports syntax highlighting and have a file browser.
in MED you can also define projects (remeber file list and open all the files on startup)

i tried the zend studio editor es well, but it's not as powerfull as ue oder MED (espacially in replacements a.s.o.)

there's only an autocomplete function missing in ue and MED. :(

[Norman Graham]

I also use PHP Edit. It is quite buggy and the website is seriously 'under construction' (the debug and FAQ pages are completely empty) but I like the auto-prompt, colour-coding, line numbering and so on. The automatic completion can be a pain, as it often gives you what you don't want and you have to delete it. You can probably switch it off somehow.

I like the feature which fades the code sections when you switch from PHP to HTML and vice versa, so only the appropriate code is in colour.

When you save, you often get error messages, but the file still saves. The messages are good French practice, though: Erreur dans le module ...

The installation routine is good French practice :-).

Bonne chance!

Norman

[dalecosp]

For those still using pico (not that there's necessarily anything *wrong* with that)......nano is superior. They've added a 'replace' function that's real useful....for example, converting scripts written when register_globals was "ON"......

Also, it seems to have a better understanding of backspace/delete....

A while back I pulled down "AnyEdit" to run on a win9x box at home, and it segfaulted immediately...... so I've not done any research into anything 'fancier' at this time.....

dalecosp

[kinadian]

Originally posted by dannys
Both EditPlus and UltraEdit can open/save files over FTP. I'm sure there are plenty more.

Oh, I'm in love now. I've been using EditPlus for quite a while now and I love it. However, I didn't know about this feature. There is no way I'm switching editors now :)

I did try HTML-Kit a while back, but it seems a little sluggish to me, and that's not something I like in a text editor.

As for my system, my desktop is running Windows XP Professional and my server is running Mandrake 9.0. I do my editing on my desktop and then upload to my server (used to use FlashFXP for the transfers, but now that I know that EditPlus will do it automatically for me, I won't need to use that anymore).

--kinadian

[MikeeX]

I use CONTEXT

http://fixedsys.com/context/

Great APP! and Free!!!

here is the feature list > http://fixedsys.com/context/features.html

[Bunkermaster]

tbh I have downloaded Context and it goes straight in the "ANNOYING EDITOR" basket. I hate those editors where you can press right arrow and just keep going on a line that ends nowhere...

[MikeeX]

hehe, I can understand what you are saying. What editor do you use?

[Bunkermaster]

MSE (Microsoft Script Editor, macro editor in Word 200x, core editor of the Visual Studio)
No PHP syntax highlighting but great editor (vertical Select, regexp search and replace, need I say more?)

[MikeRoche]

I'm using PHPEd and I can say that it is most stabile Editor I have ever seen. I think they have trial version. Have fun...
www.nusphere.comhttp://www.nusphere.com

[allen_coombs]

There is only one editor worth having HTML Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/)

[kinadian]

Originally posted by allen_coombs
There is only one editor worth having HTML Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/)

I used HTML-Kit for a little while, but I found it really slugglish. It was as though there were so many features that it slowed the whole program down (akin to Microsoft Office products). This is why I switced to EditPlus. Then recently I found out that EditPlus has FTP capabilities, so I was hooked :)

--kinadian

[crickettdt]

I agree with "kinadian" - i use Edit++. I haven't used anything else, although a friend did try to introduce me to Xemacs, and i have heard of people swearing by notepad.

[kinadian]

The great thing about EditPlus is, if your server isn't on your local machine, you can FTP in and edit them directly off the server. Saving the file automatically uploads the new version of the file.

EditPlus also has syntax highlighting which many people believe is a cheat at code. I believe all it does it make it easier for you to spot your mistakes (I do not use auto completion, though EditPlus supports it).

Most people swear by notepad because it gives you complete control. EditPlus does not take any control away from you, it makes your whole development experience less about the little things (debugging your code for hours until you find that " that you somehow didn't type, uploading the files yourself) and more about the actual code (which for me ends up being easier to read with the highlighting).

The way I see if, if you want to use NotePad, power to you. Hell, if you want to use Frontpage, that's your choice. Personally, I'd never even think about loading up the program, (I don't even install it when I install MS Office). But just because I use EditPlus, or someone uses UltraEdit (another popular one that is simiilar in features to EditPlus) then that doesn't mean we are any less of a programmer.

Use what you want, and then just smile and nod when people start ranting about Notepad. :D

--kinadian

[crickettdt]

I agree - there seem to be a lot of people intent on making their life harder for themselves by not embracing such features as syntax highlighting.

Any fool can use it to help them spot mistakes - if that makes you more efficient at coding, then all the better.

Obviously people using notepad are getting paid by the hour, and want to earn more money or something!

[Sxooter]

Originally posted by crickettdt
I agree - there seem to be a lot of people intent on making their life harder for themselves by not embracing such features as syntax highlighting.


for me the eyestrain of most syntax highlighting makes for greater eye strain. Being 38, I notice things like flickering monitors and "angry fruit salad interface colors" more now than I once did.

I prefer white on black text for editing, and since I'm pretty good at not making syntax errors I don't need syntax highlighting very much really. When I do make a syntax error, it's invariably either a missed ; or an extra , in a function call, neither of which syntax highlighting seems to help.

The most important features for me in an editor are that it not wrap my lines, cut and paste, and search and replace. pico does all those with ease, so I still use it. It's also a hands only editor, I never need to touch my mouse. I hate moving back and forth when coding.

[dalecosp]

Originally posted by Sxooter

The most important features for me in an editor are that it not wrap my lines, cut and paste, and search and replace. pico does all those with ease, so I still use it. It's also a hands only editor, I never need to touch my mouse. I hate moving back and forth when coding.

Didn't know pico did search and replace....I went to nano instead. I'm very with you on the 'keyboard only' thing, though.

[Bunkermaster]

started coding for real with VI, think I use the mouse? ;)

one very important feature for me is regexp search and replace... Looks like I am the only one...

[dalecosp]

Originally posted by Bunkermaster
started coding for real with VI, think I use the mouse? ;)

one very important feature for me is regexp search and replace... Looks like I am the only one...

Quite possibly. I hear that using vi is kinda like marriage --- it'll do almost anything for you if you give it enough devotion.....

[Bunkermaster]

I just switched to LiveMotion 6 :)

good functionality increase since 5
doesn't support PHP but ****loads more :D

[mahendrakalkura]

i just use notepad

lol

[procoder]

I use zend :) Its pretty good and the best

[IceD]

FAR (http://rarlab.com) + Colorer (http://plugring.farmanager.com/cgi-bin/downld.cgi?Lang=Eng)!

[zkara]

hi

since +2 years i code php with PhpEd , ithink that is the most and the best

but now is not free with nusphere but u can get the lest free ver

http://enseignement.informatique.univ-poitiers.fr/ressources/langages/

[Archbob]

I use windows and I use notepad, its great.

[NoFear]

Originally posted by stuartc1
...has some great features like code hylighting, integrated debugging and auto complete...

I use PHP EDIT as well, but I couldn't stand the auto complete feature, and I definitely wouldn't call it great =)

Took me forever to figure out how to turn it off. I looked everywhere in the program and couldn't find it, and I finally looked in the .ini file and found the option to turn it off. Grr... it annoyed the crap outta me.

But yeah, I definitely like the program. I just wish the exit screens were in English...

[goa103]

Homesite

Well Dream MX is Dreamweaver 4 UltraDev + Homesite. I think Homesite has been discontinuated.

MX vs GoLive 6

GoLive 6 has a built-in PHP Debugger, the Zend one ! But I tried the trial for a few weeks and It crashed too many times a day. MX worked fine and It only crashed 2 times and I was able to save the pages before it really shutdown (by not pressing Cancel/OK). A few weeks ago Macromedia released a patch so It's all for the best now. But I miss the GoLive debugger :(. Maybe Adobe released a patch too.

regexp search and replace

No I use it too! These damn French developers :p
But I rarely need it. I used UltraEdit RegExp search & replace when I had to port PHP3 scripts to PHP4.1+

LiveMotion 6

LiveMotion what ? It's the Flash product from Adobe :)
GoLive 6 is a better product to develop in PHP :p

zend

I tried Zend and god I don't like that product. It's the worst pro editor I have ever used. I say EDITOR and not IDE because the project feature really sucks. It's buggy and slow. Moreover It's very expensive and has no pro features, nothing compared to Visual Studio. You better buy GoLive 6 is you need a debugger. Products like PHP Edit, PHPEd, Maguma are great too!

For me the best software to develop PHP website has the following features:

syntax hilighting
debugger
project
FTP sync
WYSIWYG HTML editor
Code browser (Class Wizard)
Anchor (F9)
powerful Search & Replace (regexp)
plugin/scripting


I use MX and I miss the debugger but the LiveView is pretty cool. It allows you do automatically visually see what you code. Realtime HTML output.
Projects can't be save a "MX Project file".
There are no Class Wizard and I would really need it! I don't like using the Search feature in order to jump from one function to the other. Anchors allow that so It's easier to work between 2 functions, when function A call function B.

So my ideal IDE would be VS.NET for PHP. But I don't think ActiveState will release it before 2004 :(

Does anyone know an IDE that has all these features ?

PHPCoder

I started with PHPCoder and It was great! It even had a debugger. Then It became Maguma but I never really tried Maguma.

HTML-Kit

I like that one. I don't think It's that sluggish. But the ShiftTab doesn't work well and I often have to click on Indent from the Edit menu, I wonder why... Moreover it has too many useless features! Hundreds of features on the same preferences tabs. I am kinda of lost when I try to look for a feature...

Actually the best editor I found is MX. But now I will "try again" all the editors you're talking about. I know most of them but It seems I missed some of their features!

JM

[Bunkermaster]

GoLive 6 never cashed on me... (although GoLive 5 was uter poo)
LiveMotion is a bit... erm... how to put it kindly?... can't, it's crap.

I bought the whole Adobe web publishing pack last month :). Great stuff, tbh i never seen such a vast variety of features so stable... I am awed

[plokengop]

Originally posted by Bunkermaster
GoLive 6 never cashed on me... (although GoLive 5 was uter poo)
LiveMotion is a bit... erm... how to put it kindly?... can't, it's crap.

I bought the whole Adobe web publishing pack last month :). Great stuff, tbh i never seen such a vast variety of features so stable... I am awed
yep.. adobe make some good stuff? I just love photoshop. Though it has a hefty price tag of over $1k here.

As for me? I use winsyntax
http://winsyntax.com

I've just finished reading all the posts and I dont reccomend you try this one out Bunkermaster :) as I read you dont like editors where you can scroll on one line forever and it doesn't ever break to the next line until you hit enter.

Well I've read one of the posts about maguma and I'm downloading the full feature free version (16 megs.. this better be good :)).

I was apprehensive at first but when I read it had a built in debugger and had all these great features.. I just had to try it out..

[jstarkey]

FYI. I just added a new category of forums called "Tools" and added forums under it for Dreamweaver, Studio and PHPEd.

[lorddraco98]

Win XP Pro and I use Homesite, love it :D

[Bunkermaster]

I am sad to announce that GoLive has a MAJOR issue with copy paste that craps the code beyond return :eek:

....

I am back to MSE

[stuartc1]

Hi Folks,

I just found out about a site thats dedicated to PHP Editors. Check it out at PHP-Editors.com (http://php-editors.com) , it just started up but looks really great.

[jimson]

I use textpad which is availble for free to try
www.textpad.com

[mahers]

Another one to add to the list. (Free)

Code-Genie (http://www.code-genie.com/)

Basically notepad with syntax highlighting.

[LukeO]

Phew, a lot to take in here. I am currently using a small unknown alpha-version editor and notepad/wordpad, but I was looking for something a little more in-depth. I think (and it is a think because of all these posts) I should use either HTML-kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/) or Source Editor. All I really need is syntax coloring and in-built FTP.

Any suggestions would be grately appreciated :).

Luke

[Bunkermaster]

textpad all the way now


MSE b0rked after I reinstalled MS Word 2000 so Textpad all the way (even bought it to support software production)

[wscreate]

Since I began coding with HomeSite, I can't imagine using anything else. The color coding helps a lot with the "eye strain".

[pug]

www.editplus.com

works great

[abx_2112]

I may be speaking for myself here, but the thing is that i dont need a WYSIWYG editor integrated. That's because there's a design team who do the templates and (more important) i like to keep the logic in a different layer. So when i need to do some formating or layout I simply switch to DW MX.

As for php coding am using right now php-edit. It's still in dev. state but i thought i might start using it since they are making big efforts to tune the thing up. I really like the code/class-browser.

Now, what I really dont understand is why some ppl like Notepad so much. Maybe if all the work am doing during the entire day is editing ONE really small script... Hope that's not the case for you :)

Maybe notepad is so good it deserves a space at the Tools Forum? :(

[PyroX]

Vi , and that is all. If you would take the time to get in touch with it's more advanced features, you would too.

[kriek]

I use PHP Coder (http://www.phpide.de). IDE (Integrated Development Environment) especially developed for PHP programmers with PHP Interpreter, documentation, and Full Syntax Highlighting.

[mzanimephp]

I use Dreamweaver MX, and I'm running Mac OS X. :D

[prslou]

I use Dreamweaver 4 on Windows...other people have called me some stupid coder because I can't write my HTML and thats not true, it just saves me a lot of time. DW 4 has no syntax highlighting for PHP so THERE ha. :p I does do handy stuff with tables though, and the code is clean XHTML.

I do use PHPEdit once in a while but I'm perfectly happy with DW 4, built in sychronization, etc. it works for me.

[codeDV]

Snazzy IDE's and syntax higlighting are nice. But nothing beats a plain text editor. It can be anything you want and you can garuntee that where ever you are PHPing it'll be there ready to use on any OS.

I use Magma Studio and Notepad.

[interactive]

Originally posted by largo
I agree, Homesite has great syntax highlighting -- but PHPEd isn't free either, so what're you trying to tell us xentrix? :)

PHPed used to be free if I'm not mistaken. As I have a copy installed and I didn't pirate it or pay for it...

[Bunkermaster]

Yep free

[MikeRoche]

PHPEd is commercial product!
They also have trial evaluation version (maybe you are talking about it?)
You can explore PHPEd here.
www.phped.com or www.nusphere.com

[cyclops]

www.editpadpro.com
if I need to work on Winnot

and VIM when I am root

[Tekron-X]

My new editor of choice is Maguma Studio PHP

http://www.maguma.com/

It is a really clean interface and great syntax coloring and can auto preivew your script in the web browser by the click of a button.

[Anacrusis]

At work I use VIM on Linux... really hard to get used to but it's an excellant editor.

At home I use SourceEdit on windows. My all time favorite editor. I use it for my ASP :eek: coding as well.

[tshafer]

On Linux, I just uise Kate for KDE 3.1

---tom

[Tekron-X]

Another greate editor for windows is called Xphp
http://www.syscreations.com/

Grate color coding and has a auto web tester just like maguma
all you do is make sure the server options are set up then you run the script right from Xphp.

The best about this editor is that you have a nice set of custom colors to choose from to get the editor comfortable the only thing I recommend changing though is the comment color. Lime green is nasty on white.

[mystrymaster]

on windows I use acehtml - very stable very good syntax highlighting and on linux I just use plain ol emacs.

[rklapwijk]

I code on Win XP Pro, IIS 5.1, PHP 4.3.1.
And i code in Notepad, in my eyes the best program. I don't need all that fancy coloured highlighted stuff... my eyes are good enought to see the codes :D

[Tekron-X]

rklapwijk you can't beat me for about 3 months I was coding in Dos Edit :D

[rklapwijk]

OMG! did your brains stop working at the time you were coding with dos edit? ;)

[FrozNic]

Tekron-X owns me lol, that's great! dos edit :) i'm more a edit.com fan, but, that might be the same thing :) anywho, i use dwmx, i have full ver. because i have it at work, however, u can get the trial from macromedia.com ... i find it interesting as so far it has seemed to integrate great with asp php mysql perl and the list goes on. another feature i have found quite useful is it's built in funcitons. you can drag whatever ur looking for, be it form elements, headers and footers, tons of javascript scripts: how to find the area of something, cookies, converstions, date and event functions. you can add your own custom 'templates' i guess would be the word to drag and drop into your code. say u'v made a file called incFunctions.php and in there you have all sorts of function u've made, all u gotta do is throw into your 'snippets' your code... example:
include('inc/incFunctions.php');
squareroot ( $num );
print $num;

or whatever u know..
another great feature i like is the ability to right click on ANY tag, and bring up a property window for that element. say you edit <td> it shows in the form window that pops up: color, width, height, etc. all so you can select or type in visually what you'd like. now, i know that's a tad bit childish and visual, but, when u'r in a hurry to make a huge class for a td tag or whatever u'd like for css, it's great for spittin out the exact hex code for the color, height, width, and any other property in seconds.

also there's a great file layout tool, that shows all the file u'r workin on in your project.. asp, php, sql, htm, html, you name it

now, realizing this isn't free, i apologize for those who are namin off free progs. but, if push came to shove, i wouldn't buy this sucker for what macro* wants. but, where i get paid to use it free, i say this all the way.
i think before i started dwmx i used textpad and that worked great for me. but dwmx has some cool features that would be great to add into a free edit tool. it wouldn't be hard to add them, and in fact, i already got some ideas rollin to build my own... :D but, i really think it's a great tool for global programming (different languages, etc.)

[rklapwijk]

Well, i don't like dw because it's creates loads of nonsence in the code. It has a lot of problems with tables when they're not in a layer. And i don't like layers, sure they look fine in IE, but ever checked a site with 30+ layers on a page in Netscape 4.7 for example? Dw is NOT browser compatible, pages are designed for IE only, and if you choose to make them compatible for like Netscape aswell, you'll encounter problems viwing it with IE. In my eyes the only usefull thing is DHTML, it's faster to let dw create the code for you, just copy and paste.

When you create a page in it, or a menubar in fw it creates so many useless spacers and code in it. Just a sample that dw uses in a page i quickly wrote:

<tr>
<td><img src="images/left/spacer.gif" width="83" height="1" border="0"></td>
<td><img src="images/left/spacer.gif" width="116" height="1" border="0"></td>
<td><img src="images/left/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"></td>
<td><img src="images/left/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" border="0"></td>
</tr>

Isn't it easier to to use <tr><td colspan="4"><img src="spacer.gif" border="0"></td></tr>?

This is just a small part of the entire code, you can save loads of kbs each page this way.

Anyways, as you noticed i don't like wysiwyg programs, the only good way is making it yourself clean code and cross-browser & version compatible (im my eyes at least).

[matbennett]

Since I've been reading through this thread, and trying out most of the suggested editors, for a while now, thought I may as well include my own preferences.

I use DWMX, with Phakt for a lot of the generic stuff. It's not perfect (although I certainly don't get the problem above with tables!), but it is quick. The extra PHP support that Phakt gives me just makes all the "standard" pages so much faster to knock-out.

DW is a resource hog though, so most of the hand coding that I do is done with Context, which does everything I want it to without complaining about it.

[laserlight]

I'm starting to use win32pad (http://www.gena01.com/win32pad/) on M$ Windows as my general purpose text editor, and it seems pretty good.

[Tekron-X]

Anyone have a editor that I will like lol none of the ones I found suit me anymore. I want a nice IDE with debugging etc... But I need a free one and Maguma I do not like or XPHP the more I use them the more I hate them.

[danville]

I use SourceEdit with the PHP-HTML lang addin.

[mphare]

For Windows and for just about any general editing, I use Zeus Edit (http://www.zeusedit.com/). It has built in syntax highlighting for PERL and HTML, and you can create your own for PHP (derive from PERL). It can handle very large files, and a MDI interface, and a good mix of editing caps.

I have stopped using NOTEPAD for anything except the very quick viewing of small txt files.

[Tekron-X]

I am currently using Maguma but I am stuck with this until I can find a good one.

[goa103]

Originally posted by Tekron-X
Anyone have a editor that I will like lol none of the ones I found suit me anymore. I want a nice IDE with debugging etc... But I need a free one and Maguma I do not like or XPHP the more I use them the more I hate them.

You should try PHPEdit, editor and debugger. It's quite powerful and the next release will have a lot of improvements. I also like Zend Studio, the Personal and Free Edition is pretty cool. However some features are disabled: debugger, class/function browser...

JM

[goa103]

Originally posted by laserlight
I'm starting to use win32pad (http://www.gena01.com/win32pad/) on M$ Windows as my general purpose text editor, and it seems pretty good.

I like Metapad (http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/):
- Display line numbers
- Highlight urls
- Fast to launch and low memory usage
- Notepad-like
...

JM

[elToro]

What I like about Zend is that it does code completion for user-defined classes and functions. As far as I know, it's the only PHP editor to do so.

[benkillin]

I only use dreamweaver mx, I dont even bother with the wssywyg mode, I only have it set in code only view, the syntax highlighting is great!

but... it isnt free...

[abda53]

you guys should all check out Crimson Editor.. its freeware.. very great programming..

you can open up multiple pages at once and easily view them.. do keyword searches throughout a directory and its subdirectories, replace words in your page, or in all opened pages, plus the undo/redo option is fantastic.. and you can have 50 pages open, andif you close down the program, the next time you open it, it will automatically load your unclosed files. its also got the directory list on the left.. there are so many features.. its great

try it out

[timmerk]

OS X 10.2.6 - BBEdit 7 ! only the best

[Reformed]

I use OS X and personally I can't stand BBedit. No offense to those who love it. The best editor I have found works on all OS's. It's the Eclipse project with the phpeclipse plugin.

This baby has awsome syntax highlighting, php parsing on save, class and function outlines, code hints and many other features. The best part is that it's free.

Go to Eclipse.org (http://eclipse.org) to get the IDE and go to PHPEclipse.org (http://phpeclipse.org) the php plugin.

This is a nice IDE and works with Java, C#, SQL, and has many neat plugins for things like mp3 players that work inside the IDE. Do a Google search for eclipse plugins.:)

[el22]

ConTEXT here :)

[Merve]

I've never used anything but Notepad and I'm proud of it. Total control over all my coding!
Although once I did try to use Internet Notepad, but it wasn't working properly, so from then on I've been using Notepad. Oh yeah, I did use PuTTY a few times, because we had to use it at a computer camp I went to.
Go Notepad! Although I will try some of the programs mentioned here.

[dalecosp]

But PuTTY is not an editor ...!!

It's an SSH/Telnet client ...

What editor did you use on the host you PuTTY'd to?

Like, 'vi', 'ed', 'emacs', 'pico', 'nano', .etc....

[stolzyboy]

didn't want to dig thru the thread to see if i already said this, but HOMESITE is the way to go for color coded text editor

[elToro]

I've never used anything but Notepad and I'm proud of it.


The fact that Notepad freaks out in the presence of UNIX text files makes it pretty useless to me. I also prefer to be able to insert tabs as spaces.

If I want a quick, light-weight, Notepad-style text editor, I use EditPad Lite. If I want color coding and some file management capabilities, but prefer to stick with a Windows style GUI, I use HomeSite. If I want color coding, but I'll be doing a lot of typing and don't want/need a Windows-style GUI, I use vim. If I want code completion, I use Zend Studio.

[stolzyboy]

Originally posted by elToro
The fact that Notepad freaks out in the presence of UNIX text files makes it pretty useless to me. I also prefer to be able to insert tabs as spaces.

If I want a quick, light-weight, Notepad-style text editor, I use EditPad Lite. If I want color coding and some file management capabilities, but prefer to stick with a Windows style GUI, I use HomeSite. If I want color coding, but I'll be doing a lot of typing and don't want/need a Windows-style GUI, I use vim. If I want code completion, I use Zend Studio.

by the way, i don't use pre homesite 5's dreamweaver like design section, i only use it to code, don't like the wysiwyg's

[bad76]

Originally posted by elToro
The fact that Notepad freaks out in the presence of UNIX text files makes it pretty useless to me

To solve this i've made a little c program that add line-feed at end of each line. If someone need i can post it somewhere...

[elToro]

by the way, i don't use pre homesite 5's dreamweaver like design section, i only use it to code, don't like the wysiwyg's


Is that what you thought I meant by a Windows-style GUI? I meant menu bars, toolbars, standard Windows shortcut keys, and the like (as opposed to a non-GUI interface like Vim).

[stolzyboy]

Originally posted by elToro
Is that what you thought I meant by a Windows-style GUI? I meant menu bars, toolbars, standard Windows shortcut keys, and the like (as opposed to a non-GUI interface like Vim).

no, it was just an afterthought, but it was the GUI that sprung the afterthough initially

[elToro]

I feel compelled to add that as a text editor for CSS and (X)HTML, TopStyle Pro (from the original author of HomeSite) is the crap (in a good way)!

[Chaotic Reality]

I have php/apache/mysql all setup locally on my laptop, running FreeBSD, and I use vim.

J.

[Merve]

Go Notepad/Crimson Editor...I think! And I use Source Edit only for the RGB mixer....so yeah...I just confused myself...

[ultraslacker]

I use vim most of the time, I've gotten very accustomed to it - so much so that I'm helpless when faced with something basic like notepad or nano.

It has syntax highlighting, keyword searching, macros, etc... Its one failing is when working with large projects it can get cumbersome - for that I use eclipse.

[Merve]

Originally posted by ultraslacker
I use vim most of the time, I've gotten very accustomed to it - so much so that I'm helpless when faced with something basic like notepad or nano.

It has syntax highlighting, keyword searching, macros, etc... Its one failing is when working with large projects it can get cumbersome - for that I use eclipse.

Just like any other editor...

[DigitaLink]

Well, I've been though a few editors, still trying new ones, and here's my thoughts.

I'm a hand coder. All these warm, fuzzy WYSIWYG editors annoy me. So automatically, things like FrontPage are shiznitzed to section 13.

I've tried Quanta and Bluefish in Linux, along with emacs and vi and kate and a bunch of others I don't even remember anymore. But my linux box died and I live with an XP Pro box now.

For quite some time I was insanely happy with EditPlus. Mainly because I could open/save from/to a remote host by FTP without opening an FTP program. Saved me many headaches. Plus it has good syntax highlighting, which I enjoy.

Tried a couple others of names I no longer recall, then found HTML-Kit. WONDERFUL program for coding. A big sluggish to start/close, but overall it's great. FREE, expandable through a number of plugins for almost any programming language, does everything I need it to and a few more things I haven't found a need for yet.

Recently I got my hands on a copy of Dreamweaver MX (the whole shebang with Flash, Fireworks, etc). Not a cheap program to say the least. So I set about trying to make use of it. For the price of the package, I can't justify NOT trying to use it. But I'm really struggling with it. A lot of it's features are of the pointy-clicky variety and I don't like taking my fingers off the keyboard when I'm typing. I'm used to coding pure PHP top of page to bottom and it just inserts little PHP hiccups throughout HTML code with drives me bonkers. Maybe these things can be sorted out through preferences or 'teaching it' as I've heard referenced here. Other little things that annoy me are the way it picks and chooses what it is going to open with word wrap and what it isn't. I want word wrap all the time, but it won't let me have it that way it seems. And MAN does it chew resources. It's like trying to open Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro 8 - only worse! For someone who generally has no less than 4 or 5 programs and a dozen browser windows on the go, this is a bad thing.

So in all that negativity I still find myself trying to use it ... wasting more time fighting it than coding with it. BUT I have found one thing I LOVE about DMX ... the PHP/mySQL integration. With a local server for development it's a godsend to have it create my SQL queries and code for me. THAT is the one killer timesaving feature I think will eventually convert me. With the numbers of developers out there using it and raving about it, there has got to be something really good about DMX once you learn how to use it. That's what I've concluded.

On that note, I will be handing out free CD's of the MX suite to anyone who wants one. Legalities be danged! :D

Okay, I was kidding about that. You can use Kazaa and download your own copy. :p Man I feel like a chump some days ... paying for things!! That's okay though, it's all :cool:

[ultraslacker]

Originally posted by Merve
Just like any other editor...

That's vague, but I'll assume you didn't mean it in a bad way.

[laserlight]

well, an editor is still an editor, unless it becomes an IDE :)

[goa103]

Update :
- Give a try to Maguma Studio, free version available and the Standard Edition costs 30$ ! i forgot about it and tried it a few days ago. Pretty cool, however I wasn't able to debug my script. It seems that feature doesn't work properly or is not implemented.
- HTML-Kit : very impressive, I had troubles with the editor, tabs weren't working properly. However I found how to configure the software now it perfectly works. I think it's probably the best editor for web developers ! HTML/CSS/PHP... support ! It's free :), even if you can now get a Pro version.

JM

[Merve]

Originally posted by ultraslacker
That's vague, but I'll assume you didn't mean it in a bad way.

I'm just saying that there are so many good free editors on the web that there's no use in buying one.

[goa103]

Yes but a pro won't use a simple editor to develop complex applications. You can't compare an IDE to an editor like you can't compare an editor to Dreamweaver or any WYSIWYG HTML Editors. Buying a product cost some money but as long as it allows you to develop faster, it's all for the best. It's far far more expensive to use a simple editor to develop a web applications that to buy 1 product and win hundreds of hours to design and develop.

[jamesm87]

I use editplus as it works with loads of scripting languages.

[BuzzLY]

Originally posted by goa103
Yes but a pro won't use a simple editor to develop complex applications. I beg to differ. I am a professional web developer, and I use a text editor (UltraEdit) to tackle almost all of my needs. The fact is, the more complex the tool is, the more likely it is that it won't do everything a pro needs it to do.

I have nothing against any tool that helps you get the job done, but I don't like blanket statements that infer that I am not a professional just because I choose to use a text editor.

[goldbug]

Originally posted by BuzzLY
I beg to differ. I am a professional web developer, and I use a text editor (UltraEdit) to tackle almost all of my needs. The fact is, the more complex the tool is, the more likely it is that it won't do everything a pro needs it to do.

I have nothing against any tool that helps you get the job done, but I don't like blanket statements that infer that I am not a professional just because I choose to use a text editor.

Once again, I concur with Buzz. UE rocks, even more so when used properly in a professional environment.

[el22]

Originally posted by jamesm87
I use editplus as it works with loads of scripting languages.
That's why i love Context (http://www.fixedsys.com/context/) too :)

[Moonglobe]

ConTEXT is a dead editor. checkout the forums, the developer hasn't responded in like a year. i've been trying to find a good replacement...

that's for win32, on Linux i use Kate. very simple to customize, my one gripe is that it puts PHP under 'Scripts' in the highlighters list ;)

moon

[el22]

Originally posted by Moonglobe
ConTEXT is a dead editor. checkout the forums, the developer hasn't responded in like a year. i've been trying to find a good replacement...

I know, but still, i can't find any one better than Context

[Moonglobe]

neither can i unfortunately :(

o well it's not a bad editor, i just REALLY wish 1.0 would come out. then there would be no other for me. although if he open-sourced it we'd probably be at 3.5 by now....

[el22]

the problem is its not that the developer is busy, he simply doesnt show up -- nothing is known about him.

I'm now testing PSpad and seems quite good.

[Moonglobe]

i know, i was just saying he could have before he 'disappeared'.


could i have a link to this PSpad?

[edit]nvm i just googled it-- www.pspad.com

[Moonglobe]

OMG -- el22 you are a godsend. PSpad has everything i need! this is my (win32) editor of choice now! :D

[el22]

Originally posted by Moonglobe
OMG -- el22 you are a godsend. PSpad has everything i need! this is my (win32) editor of choice now! :D
:D

[rdpnet]

I have sworn by arachnophilia (arachnoid.com) since I first learned html. The author has made it flexible enough to handle a wide variety of languages. I've used it for html, perl, php, and Cold Fusion so far.

It properly colors your code to make it easier to read and find errors. It has some minimal debugging functions, like if I place the cursor right after a bracket or parenthesis, it will highlight it's mate for me so I can easily determine if I have them all properly matched up. No actual engine to run code, though.

Some other cool things is that it has a built in ftp function (though I use BPFTP instead, and a "code beautify/code compress" function (the one is the opposite of the other). The beautify function is especially handy for those pages that someone half$#^%$# put together with a WYSIWYG and handed to me to fix for them.

The coolest thing is that he's made it completely customizable using macros. If it doesn't yet do something you want it to, chances are you can program it to do it.

And best of all Arachnophilia does not cost any money. It's not freeware, but careware. I'll let you read his explanation on the website.

[goa103]

Go to Eclipse.org (http://eclipse.org) to get the IDE and go to PHPEclipse.org (http://phpeclipse.org) the php plugin.

I tried PHPEclipse a few weeks ago and wasn't impressed at all, very disappointed in fact. Am I wrong or you can't even debug using all the great features from Eclipse ? I also tried an other PHP plugin but wasn't able to make it work.

Recently I also tried GoLive 6 + Zend Debugger using a warez version (can't find a trial !) and was really really bored. It's only GoLive 6 + Zend Studio, it's not even embedded so you can't debug your PHP applications using GoLive 6 ! It's useless :(

[goa103]

Okay, I was kidding about that. You can use Kazaa and download your own copy. :p Man I feel like a chump some days ... paying for things!! That's okay though, it's all :cool: [/B]

We should respect and congratulate Macromedia and Adobe for the great job they have done with their Studio MX and Adobe Studio series. Moreover you can easily get trials from the official websites. IMHO only pros can understand why such packages are vital. If quality, delays and cost ring a bell to you, go get your studio today :)

[goa103]

Originally posted by Merve
I'm just saying that there are so many good free editors on the web that there's no use in buying one.

Very smart, do you expect developers work for you all the time ? I mean how can you expect developers to maintain a free tool for ever ?

My opinion is that you should ONLY try softwares that can be used freely as long as you're an individual but bought when you become a pro. This way you support the developers and the community.

Good example, OpenOffice.org, free for everyone, buy you have to buy StarOffice if you own a business. Isn't that great ?

There's a solution to everything and saying "don't pay for a freeware editor" doesn't mean anything, it's non sense.

Don't be selfish, think about the others first (users and developers, the community), then think about your purse :)

[goa103]

Originally posted by goldbug
Once again, I concur with Buzz. UE rocks, even more so when used properly in a professional environment.

I'm sorry but you can't compare a simple editor like UE to a WYSIWYG HTML editor like DWMX. Editors are good for hand-code developers, hardcoders but a web designers & developers can't just use a simple editor to design a whole website. I mean seriously. Using an editor to design a page, form, tables... You waste too much time so the company you work for lose a lot of money.

I'm not for 100% WYSIWYG, I also use editors but when it comes to visual, editors can't help. They only slow you down.

[goa103]

Originally posted by Moonglobe
ConTEXT is a dead editor. checkout the forums, the developer hasn't responded in like a year. i've been trying to find a good replacement...

that's for win32, on Linux i use Kate. very simple to customize, my one gripe is that it puts PHP under 'Scripts' in the highlighters list ;)

moon

Of course it's dead, it was just a freeware. The guy probably got bored or understood that he can't earn money selling a freeware ahah :)

I think you should try NoteTab Light/Pro from Fookes Software, Light version is Free and Pro only costs you 20$ !

[nasty_psycho]

The best PHP editors I've seen till now are : DzPHP, but it isn't free, I've found also that DEV-PHP is the best PHP editor for windows and is for free http://devphp.sourceforge.net

[abx_2112]

I use phpedit. Dont know if all those you talk about are just as good.

[Tristan Wells]

I use winsyntax on windows.

[vitalyb]

I use mostly PHPEdit, mainly for its macro/customization and its syntax highlighting.

Sometimes I turn DW MX on just to do a quick design of a web page. Then I imitate the code using PHP in PHPEdit.

[twcmad]

I have been using 1stpage from eversoft.

100% free, very powerfull and lays things out nicley for you.

http://www.evrsoft.com/

Twcmad

[piersk]

I've just started using VIM cos I found that DWMX and Zend studio were too memory heavy for my poor little laptop :(

Anyway, I've found it excellent. It has syntax highlighting for just about every language under the sun.

Does anyone know of any good VIM tutorials? I found the ones that come with it are a bit confusing.

[goldbug]

Just thought I'd post 'cuz I'm using a new combination of apps all the time now :D

Work: UltraEdit.
Home: ArgoUML + QuantaPlus (kde3.2 version)

Was using Umbrello, but it completely destroyed a whole days worth of work recently, so I'm Argo from now on. :D

[gid]

Originally posted by piersk
Does anyone know of any good VIM tutorials? I found the ones that come with it are a bit confusing.

There's definitely a bit of a learning curve with vim.

Here's a vim cheatsheet:
http://www.fprintf.net/vimCheatSheet.html

basically you need to know vim is a dual moded editor, there's command mode, hit ESC at any time, and you're in command mode, and there's also edit mode, hitting i, a, o, etc in command mode gets you there. Other than that, it's just a bit of memorization and practice of the commands you find most useful.

i inserts, o inserts a newline, x deletes a character, dd deletes a whole line, d4d deletes 4 lines, u does an undo, ctrl-r does a redo, shift-ZZ saves and exits, :q! quits without saving. Those are the quickies that I use the most, there's other really tricky tips that makes vim really powerful here:
http://vim.sourceforge.net/tips/index.php

And and the #1 reason I use vim, it's available for windows and linux, so I can use the same editor no matter what OS I'm running at the moment.

[goldbug]

Originally posted by gid
And and the #1 reason I use vim, it's available for windows and linux, so I can use the same editor no matter what OS I'm running at the moment.

What about JEdit? :D

[piersk]

Originally posted by goldbug
Work: UltraEdit.
Home: ArgoUML

Are you MAAAAD? I had to use that for a couple of my Uni courses and hated it!

What do you use it for?

[goldbug]

Originally posted by piersk
Are you MAAAAD? I had to use that for a couple of my Uni courses and hated it!

What do you use it for?

I'm assuming you're talking about ArgoUML and not Ultraedit (ultraedit is tha bomb)....
I use it for general UML Class diagrams, to help plan them out, get relationships/dependencies down, etc. Argo can export the diagrams as PHP (or C++/Java/C#) code, so basically all I have to do is the actual implementation, and save time by not typing the same class structure every time.

[gid]

Originally posted by goldbug
What about JEdit? :D

Didn't hear about jedit at the time and vim did everything I needed. :) I've used java editors before, they have a big memory footprint, and there's just something about the weird looking java ui that I can't quite get used to. Oh yeah, and the fonts suck for java under Linux.

Things might have changed by now, but I fear I'm probably forever tainted against java apps.

[piersk]

Originally posted by goldbug
Argo can export the diagrams as PHP (or C++/Java/C#) code

REALLY??? Wow!! They don't tell you THAT in OO lectures!

With regards to java editors, I found the same thing when trying sun one and also Zend Studio 3.0. They both REALLY slowed down my machine. Also DW to some extent (but not as bad as Zend of studio one).

[vitalyb]

Ultraedit (ultraedit is tha bomb)....

UltraEdit is a nice app but it still doesn't handle PHP multiline strings (syntax coloring). Imo it is rather important.

Also, someone mentioned "1st page". I looked on their web site and PHP is not mentioned at all in its features (Or "Supported languages") why do you use it then?

[goldbug]

Originally posted by vitalyb
UltraEdit is a nice app but it still doesn't handle PHP multiline strings (syntax coloring). Imo it is rather important.
Could you elaborate? I've never had a problem with UltraEdit's syntax highlighting.


EDIT: nm, I see what you're saying... I just never do multiline strings like that, so never have run across it :D.

[jebster]

Originally posted by xentrix
Largo: Iīm sorry I have some old version thatīs still free ;-)
There was a free version? Where could one obtain a copy?


Originally posted by Bunkermaster
Jafa cr33!

;)
w00t, a stargate fan! :D

[greeno76]

I use Maguma.

The free version works fine. It's got a debugger/previewer. If you've got a local MySql then you can test dB's aswell.

Highlighting's pretty handy too.

[jot-87]

I use Quanta Plus (Quanta Plus Web Development Environment)
on my Linux Mandrake OS. Syntax hilighting is very good,
but sometimes it goes nuts and decides to
turna few random characters light-green.
Probably caused by my coding, but I havn't found where yet... It also has tabs, for those who perfer that.

[goldbug]

Originally posted by jot-87
I use Quanta Plus (Quanta Plus Web Development Environment)
on my Linux Mandrake OS. Syntax hilighting is very good,
but sometimes it goes nuts and decides to
turna few random characters light-green.
Probably caused by my coding, but I havn't found where yet... It also has tabs, for those who perfer that.

I don't think that's your coding...I think it's a software bug. It happens to me too, but if I close Quanta and reload it, it appears correctly. Usually I just ignore it and keep typing. :D

[bubblenut]

Hmm, I get a similar thing sometimes with VIM. It higlights the text as though it were all in quotes (looks like it's a string). If I page up and page down again it's all OK.
Cheers
Bubble

[lilleman]

I didn't have enough time or energy to read through the entire thread so this program may have been brought up before. Well, here goes:

I'm using Crimson Editor (http://www.crimsoneditor.com). It's a wonderful program that's simple but still includes the most nessecary parts such as syntax highlighting, search & replace (with regexp support). Well, download it and give it a try! =)

-- lilleman

[goa103]

Hello,

I thought some of you might be interested to know that jEdit (http://www.jedit.org/) also allows you to develop PHP based application. I found it while searching for a Notetab (http://www.notetab.com/), a notepad like text editor, replacement. It has some really cool features such as plugins, multiple languages support (PHP, Java, HTML...), Java look and feel (Metal, Windows...), tabs (install the BufferTabs plugin), syntax highlighting...

Some of jEdit's features include:

* Written in Java, so it runs on MacOS X, OS/2, Unix, VMS and Windows.
* Built-in macro language; extensible plugin architecture. Dozens of macros and plugins available.
* Plugins can be downloaded and installed from within jEdit using the "plugin manager" feature.
* Auto indent, and syntax highlighting for more than 80 languages.
* Supports a large number of character encodings including UTF8 and Unicode.
* Folding for selectively hiding regions of text.
* Word wrap.
* Highly configurable and customizable.
* Every other feature, both basic and advanced, you would expect to find in a text editor. See the Features (http://www.jedit.org/index.php?page=features) page for a full list.

You should really try their amazing plugin manager, it reminds me of the HTML-Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/) one but far more well designed and powerful. The built-in macro languages allow you to extend jEdit like embedding a debugger (see the Java debugger plugin) for example. So in some way it can even be compared to the Eclipse IDE (http://www.eclipse.org/).

Just as a reminder I use the following softwares to design and develop PHP based applications : PHPEdit (http://www.phpedit.net/) (powerful programming editor, embedded debugger), HTML-Kit (http://www.chami.com/html-kit/) (powerful and extendable HTML/CSS/PHP editor), phpMyAdmin (http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/) (Web based MYSQL databases administration tool), Mozilla/Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/) (Amazing web browser, JavaScript debugger, CSS editor, Web Developer extension...).

JM

[piersk]

One of the few things I don't like about jedit (and I have this to say about all java software is that it's too damn memory addictive - as if XP wasn't enough.

The fact is that by definition, Java is going to be this way. I mean, the VM is in effect another OS eating up your resources.

Once they tighten the VM so that it is more efficient, then I will think about using it.

[sfullman]

slightly off subject but is there a php native function that will highlight syntax? I want to display a page's source code internally and this would be a help along with the <pre></pre> call in HTML.

Thanks,
Sam

[BuzzLY]

PHP is a server-side scripting language. Therefore, there are no pre-packaged functions for highlighting text. However, you could easily write one yourself using regular expressions and some <span> tags...

[dannys]

Take a look at the following manual pages:

http://uk.php.net/manual/en/function.highlight-file.php

http://uk.php.net/manual/en/function.highlight-string.php