I tried to see if there wasn't any past threads about this, but didn't seem to find any so im starting one ;)

Whats your favorite PHP editor?

Mine would be Windows notepad, most of my friends call me old for using such a basic editor, the main reasons why Im using it is because its simple and it does include all the things I need for developing a website. I've tried a couple of other editors such as Zend but I havn't been to keen on them since I wasn't able to customise the editor exactly as I wanted which lead me to use Notepad as it had all that.

What are your favorite editors and reason for exactly that one?

I have two favorites which alternate depending upon my mood, and seriousness about my project. I have both phpDesigner 2007 and ConTEXT (free). I like the first when I want code complete, inline help and tooltips, and realtime/inline debugging. And I like ConTEXT when I've no need or want for that stuff. Both have syntax highlighting. ConTEXT can be configured to debug a PHP script by a "user command" functionality, and show the bugs in a result window below the editor.

Like I said, depends upon my wants.

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Maybe it's just be but I absolutely adore Dreamweaver.

I have dreamweaver and have used almost every other IDE out there, notpad++ is my favorite.

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The tool I likely used to answer your question.

Zend Environment! I used to use Dreamweaver back in the days version 4 was out. Now that was a long time ago, I have to say. Zend is brilliant though. Profilers, offline PHP documentation, autocomplete, syntax highlighting, project management, CVS - all out of the box!

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dreamweaver here

I love however 3 different IDE's:
1.Notepad++
2.phpDesigner
3.Zend IDE

1: vim / gVim (quick and i can open directly in my terminal, also very configurable)
2: notepad++ (simple yet advanced at the same time, much needed tabs for files and an explorer window to the left so i can quickly navigate and open files within my project)
3: Zend (the debugger has been a life saver on many an occasion)

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I use Coda and TextMate, both very competent editors but not IDEs.

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Windows only

PSpad
I used PSpad for a while. That's probably the editor I would drag around on a usb stick or to get up and running quickly on someone else's machine.

Notables:

• Notepad++
• Programmer's notepad
• Notepad2
  (An absolute basic editor, though with some syntax highlighting, matching brackets etc. I use this one as a replacement for Windows Notepad)

Dual/Other OS
(currently using these)

jEdit
I use jEdit most of the time now. Got it configured 99% like I want it. I chose to focus on jEdit because it should run on both Windows and Linux.

But since then I haven't used it at all in Linux. I've come to like Gedit alot and thus just use that when on Linux. Not as heavy as jEdit (java based).

Gedit seems really basic, but with a few clicks on checkboxes it gets more advanced.

Both editors have a "snippets" feature that make them similar to textmate. PSPad has this built in. I'm pretty sure Notepad++ can do this, not sure about programmer's notepad.

Here's a video of jEdit. I think there are also available some videos of gedit doing this as well on youtube.

I've heard jEdit being mentioned a lot in the programming world. I do believe it's a Java-coded application, hence the prepended j, much like the Zend Environment, but what outstanding features does it boast that other applications don't implement, or might not do as well?

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I like Notepad++ and Crimson Editor. Crimson Editor has not been maintained in a while but seems to work well enough with Vista.

i use dreamweaver mostly, i just started using aptana and its pretty good. But jEdit is great for any programming because it has hundreds of languages built in. No compiler or debugger but syntax highlighting for them all.

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I use Notepad++ for small little things but when I'm working on a big project I get the Zend environment going. Zend Studio is fantastic for big projects, although I still haven't figured out how to setup the debugger!!

I like Aptana, but java's huge memory footprint kind of bugs me (Over 100mb here at work when I use it). If I could ever get a memory upgrade...

Thats exactly the reason I don't use Zend for small little things, it uses up like 250 mb sometimes

How much memory are you running on?

1 gig on Windows XP.

I know some may say that's enough, but I don't! When you are running the IDE, the browser windows (research and testing), debugger, email program, media player , etc., it all adds up. Add to that the twice-a-week company virus scan and uughh!

I am spoiled with 4 gig on a 64bit Vista/Gentoo Linux install at home.

I think more is coming. The budgets were just done, and the other developers and I asked for another gig or 2. We shall see...

When I'm on the Mac: TextMate. On the PC: E.

Mubs

Over the years I've probably tried dam near every PHP editor out there and my favourite by far is Zend IDE. To quote Wildhoney:

Exactly the reasons I can't live without it now for PHP coding.

For a general text editor I use Textpad v4 (can't get used to v5)

Alan

Does the standard edition of the Zend IDE have profilers? I think I need that right now, and if I can get my hands on one built into the IDE it'd be great. Dunno that I want to pay a few hundred dollars for the Pro copy yet.

Edit: Rats, it does appear to be commercial only.

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Programmers are in a race with the Universe to create bigger and better idiot-proof programs, while the Universe is trying to create bigger and better idiots. So far the Universe is winning. - Rich Cook