Summary : Which code editor is preferable for PHP / WordPress develompent, VSCode or Apache NetBeans 11?
I had been using Bracket for the “live preview” and switched to Code a couple of months ago and had the live preview working in a round about way. Last week I started going through the book “PHP and Algorithmic Thinking” and was introduced to NetBeans. The interface is ancient but the IDE does have some nice features.
Now I am unable to decide if I should continue to use NetBeans or go back to Code.
NetBeans does not seem to have a choice of themes and good fonts to use for coding, but does make it easy to run console type PHP apps within.
Any suggestions? Personal reasons for sticking to one or the other?
Is anybody even using NetBeans for PHP? I do see it listed in Stack Overflow surveys and “best editor” lists. Just wanted some input.
I also use Sublime and find that once changes are committed they are instantly available in the refreshed browser window so find it unnecessary for any previews.
I do not program for Windows and mostly do PHP backend sites.
Sublime is not good at inspecting variable values and have found it necessary to introduce numerous breakpoints… which on occasions can be quite tedious
I have used xdebug but find that PHP 7 has an excellent tool which fails fast when errors are encountered. Unlike error reporting, which applies to the calling page and all included files, declaring strict types only applies to the current page. Give it a try, I am sure you will like it:
<?php
declare( strict_types = 1 ); // must be first declaration
// Also try declaring all parameter types and function return types
function testing
(
string $val = '',
int $id = 12345,
array $aRows = []
)
:array // return type must be array
{
//
return $aResult;
}///
It is also possible to declare a few other types such as objects.
Using the above strict declarations eliminates PHP’s sloppy type juggling and less code will make the programs run faster!
Valuable information John, thank you.
You do “back-end PHP sites”. Sounds like something I would want to do. Good to know people who are doing that … so I know where to look for help.
Thanks once again.
