Very basic PHP editor / ide question

[cjl]

PHPers:

I am a total beginner, so please excuse my very simple question.

I have been playing with PHP on Windows XP, and mostly using Notepad2
(http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html) for editing. It has syntax
highlighting, which is all I thought I needed.

I decided to learn the Qcodo framework (http://www.qcodo.com/). In the
introductory screencast, the developer is using the Zend Studio IDE.
He has a project open, and when the Qcodo framework generates new files
into a subdirectory of the project directory, those new files are
automatically added to the project. Not only are the new files
automatically detected and added to the project, but the class methods
and properties frome the generated files are added to the code
completion.

I guess my question is about this combination of features: 1)
Automatically detecting generated files, 2) Code completion that scans
all files in a project.

Will I find these features in other editors or IDEs? What are the
actual name of these features? For example, with PHP-Eclipse I can get
the code completion to work, but I think files must be added to a
project manually.

Any help is appreciated, and I apologize for asking what must be a FAQ.

-cjlesh

[Carl Vondrick]

Re: Very basic PHP editor / ide question

cjl wrote:[color=blue]
> PHPers:
>
> I am a total beginner, so please excuse my very simple question.
>
> I have been playing with PHP on Windows XP, and mostly using Notepad2
> (http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html) for editing. It has syntax
> highlighting, which is all I thought I needed.
>
> I decided to learn the Qcodo framework (http://www.qcodo.com/). In the
> introductory screencast, the developer is using the Zend Studio IDE.
> He has a project open, and when the Qcodo framework generates new files
> into a subdirectory of the project directory, those new files are
> automatically added to the project. Not only are the new files
> automatically detected and added to the project, but the class methods
> and properties frome the generated files are added to the code
> completion.
>
> I guess my question is about this combination of features: 1)
> Automatically detecting generated files, 2) Code completion that scans
> all files in a project.
>
> Will I find these features in other editors or IDEs? What are the
> actual name of these features? For example, with PHP-Eclipse I can get
> the code completion to work, but I think files must be added to a
> project manually.
>
> Any help is appreciated, and I apologize for asking what must be a FAQ.
>
> -cjlesh
>[/color]

I use Eclipse and PHPEclipse running Kubuntu Linux, and I think it's
great. When I first started to use it, I too thought you had to add
files manually--that is not the case. Just dropped your files into the
appropiate workspace/project folder, then open PHP eclipse, close all
open projects, and press F5. Open your project, and your files should
be there.

Good luck.

[jussij@zeusedit.com]

Re: Very basic PHP editor / ide question

> Will I find these features in other editors or IDEs? What[color=blue]
> are the actual name of these features?[/color]

The Zeus IDE has class browsing, code folding and syntax
highlighting for the PHP language:

http://www.zeusedit.com/php.html

Zeus also does code completion using the information contain
in it's ctags database.

To create a ctags database you need to create a Zeus
workspace or alternatively use the ctags database
builder utility:

http://www.zeusedit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=185

Jussi Jumppanen
Author: Zeus for Windows
Note: Zeus is shareware (45 day trial).