Best Tools And Ides That Php Developers Must Use In 2021

By Author: Jonathan Paul
Total Articles: 66
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Hypertext Preprocessor that is also commonly known as PHP, is one of the most popular server-side programming languages for building websites and web applications. Some of the well-known names like Facebook, MailChimp, Zoom, Wikipedia, and many more are powered by the PHP language. And the major reasons that contribute to the high popularity of this scripting language are as follows:

PHP is open-source and is easy to learn and use. 
It is well-documented.
Comes with in-built classes, functions, methods, and libraries. 
Has a strong and large community support. 
PHP is flexible and highly scalable that can be used to extend functionalities with the business expansion as well. 
Supports a host of tools and frameworks that makes PHP development efficient. 

 
However, in order to leverage the most out of the language and simplify tasks, it is important to utilise the available PHP development tools. Using the right tools also enhance the programming efficiency and also minimise web development errors. Achieving the desired results with PHP becomes easy ...
... with these PHP development tools. 
 
The market is overflooded with well-designed PHP development tools. And this can make it really difficult to choose the best set of tools to fulfil the project needs. This article enlists the most popular PHP development tools that PHP developers must use in 2021. 
 
 Best 5 PHP web development tools you can use. 
 
PHPStorm:
PHPStorm was introduced by JetBrains. It is lightweight, speedy, and a smooth PHP development tool. The tool can be used with almost all the PHP frameworks like Symfony, Laravel, Zend Framework, Yii, CakePHP, and more. It also supports some of the popular Content Management Systems like Drupal, Magento, and WordPress. Besides, it supports some popular programming languages like C#, C, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Visual Basic, and C++. This IDE or tool offers features like easy and quick debugging, zero-configuration, code completion, unit testing and code refactoring. When it comes to debugging, the tool works well with Zend Debugger and Xdebug. It also enables developers to integrate easily with version control systems. 
 
Cloud 9: 
This is an open-source cloud Integrated Development Environment that offers a web development ecosystem for this programming language and many more languages like JavaScript, HTML5, C, Python, C++, and more. It also supports platforms such as Solaris, macOS, Linux, etc. It comes with features like code reformatting, tabbed file management, real-time language analysis, a wide range of themes, in-built editors for rotating, resizing, and cropping images. It also has an integrated debugger to set a breakpoint and an in-built terminal for viewing the command outputs directly from the server. It supports keyboard shortcuts that result in easy access to the tool as well. With this PHP tool, developers can run, write, and debug the PHP codes using any browser. It also facilitates remote debugging and execution of serverless web applications. 
 
Zend Studio:
This PHP IDE or tool supports all the PHP versions and platforms like OS X, UNIX, Linux, and Windows. The tool has an instinctive UI and offers most of the features and functionalities that are required to speed up PHP development. It comes with features like a sharp PHP code editor that supports languages like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML apart from PHP, and enhanced speed and performance while validating, indexing and searching for the codes. It also allows easy integration with Z-Ray, quick debugging with XDebug and Zend Debugger, and supports Docker, Git Flow, and Eclipse Plugin Environment. 
 
Eclipse: 
It is a cross-platform PHP IDE that is mainly suitable for large-scale web development projects. The tool supports various programming languages apart from just PHP like C++, C, ABAP, Ada, COBOL, Java, Ruby, Python, and many more. It also supports all platforms including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and UNIX. It offers a ready-made code template as well and helps to automatically validate the syntax. It comes with features like easy code refactoring and allows remote project management. 
 
Aptana Studio: 
This is an open-source PHP web development tool that is used for integrating with various server-side and client-side web technologies like CSS3, RoR, Python, Ruby, and HTML, apart from PHP. It is one of the most high-performing and productive PHP web development IDEs that comes with Git integration capabilities, supports the recent HTML5 specifications, helps to set breakpoints, and helps in inspecting variables. Aptana Studio eases out PHP development by supporting CLI and debuggers. It enables developers to build and then test web apps and websites within a single environment. 
 
However, the list of PHP development tools does not end here. There are many more like CodeLobster, Netbeans, etc. However, the PHP developers need to analyse the features of these tools and then pick the right one considering the project requirements. 
 
Jonathan Paul is one of the most dedicated and experienced PHP developers associated with the most renowned PHP development company in Australia, PHPProgrammers. The author has written this article to let you know about the best available tools and IDEs for PHP web development in 2021. 

Jonathan Paul is a techie, knowledgeable and highly skilled Magento Developer of Australia working with PHPProgrammers who like to share his industrial knowledge and insights with the readers.