Php debugging and code updates

PHP
1

Hello,

I want to improve my php apps development.

I’d like to improve debugging (using echoes and that seems really retarded) and I want to have a system which could track all the changes in code.

  1. debugging
    Do you use any special library, technique which can make php development faster and more efficient?
    Or you just define function log_me($str) ?

  2. code updates
    I know about SVN and GIT and i know git is getting more popular and its faster. Which one do you use and why?

Are there any plugins that will detect updated files, highlight them and upload to ftp server?

Any tips for better development are highly appreciated…

Maybe auto backup of the previous version before the new files are uploaded/upgraded as well?

Many thanks for help!

2

Hi, for debugging I would recommend xdebug - de facto standard in PHP world.

As of version control systems, I have only experience with SVN, and it works very well for web development. What you can do to keep your live web servers updated, is make them a “working copy” of your SVN repository. All you will need to do, is run:


svn update

command.

If you decide to go this route, make sure you disallow access to .svn directories in your web server configuration - for Apache it is:


<DirectoryMatch \\.svn>
   Order allow, deny
   Deny from all
</DirectoryMatch>

Good luck!