PHP is the 7th most widely used programming language globally and 5th most popular language in India. This makes PHP in the group of must learn languages. It is usually said PHP is an easy language to learn and start the development with. However, it is not that easy to master. It requires experience and PHP training from the experts.

If you a newbie or you are already a developer looking to upgrade your skillset, Developers Academy-top PHP classes in Ahmedabad is the place you are looking for.

PHP is the fastest and most widely used server-side scripting language used for building websites and apps. This is why the majority of the developer prefer it over other programming languages. It offers varied detailed documentation, an active and large community, ready to use scripts, and plenty of tools to increase efficiency.

So, before you jump into learning it, here are the top 5 PHP tools you should know to be an efficient developer.

Top PHP Development Tools

1) PHPStorm

This tool is written in Java and developed by JetBrains. The tool is considered to be one of the best IDE for developing websites using PHP. It blends well with most of the PHP frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, Yii, CakePHP, and Zend. It also works well with CMS like WordPress, Drupal, and Magento. This integrated development environment also avails live editing support for top frontend technologies like JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS along with features like code refactoring, debugging, and unit testing. The developers can also integrate with databases, have a remote deployment, version control system, composer, command-line tools, and rest client.

Features

• Code completion.
• Code re-arranger.
• Native Zencoding support.
• Zero-configuration debugging.
• Extension support with plugins.

2) Zend Studio

A plethora of developers prefers this tool for the speed it offers. Writing code and debugging it in the Zend won’t ask for any added effort and time from the PHP developers. One of the best parts of learning Zend from your PHP training classes is that it supports PHP 7 and enables the developers to debug PHP scripts by integrating Zend debugger, X-ray, and Xdebug. It has PHP IDE accompanied by a set of features and the ability to deploy apps on multiple servers along with servers in the Cloud. There is also an option to extend this tool through the Eclipse Plugin.

Features

• Docker support.
• Eclipse plugin support.
• Search and index PHP code.
• Fast and efficient validation.
• Support for Joomla and WordPress.

3) NuSphere PHpED

NuSphere is a US-based software development company that designed the PHpED tool for web development. It is a PHP editor tool that supports both local and remote projects and can be integrated with MVC frameworks as well. The code insight, database client, and PHP debugger makes the entire PHP app development process less complex. Also, the PhpExpress and PHP accelerator speed up the process to ensure on-time deployment. It gels well with popular frameworks like Zend, Laravel, and Yii.

Features

• Dynamic syntax highlighting.
• Docker support and Git Flow.
• Hiding and displaying certain parts of the file.
• Parallel debugging.
• Complete integration with PHPUnit.
• PHP code refactoring.
• Support for composite file extension.

4) Netbeans

Netbeans is written in Java but it does support multiple other languages like HTML5, C/C++, and PHP. The current version of the tool is fast and light-weighted making the development easy and fast for the developers. It supports the concept of modular development. It is the preferable choice of developers when it comes to developing large scale apps using multiple languages like English, Russian, Brazilian, Japanese, Brazilian, Portuguese, and simple Chinese.

Features

• Smart code compilation.
• Support for embedded apps.
• Auto-generation for getter and setter.
• Syntax highlighter.
• Code formation and folding.
• Try/catch code completion.

5) Eclipse

When you digitally look for the best PHP development tools, you will find this one in most of the results. This tool is popular, reliable, and chosen by plenty of PHP training institutes to teach and PHP developers to learn and integrate into their development process. The developers have the freedom to choose from a wide range of plugins making the coding easier and flexible. It also allows to customize and extend the IDE according to the need of the project. It is the best choice when it comes to dealing with large scale PHP projects. The cross-platform PHP editor can support both GUI and non-GUI apps.

Features

• Code templates.
• Automatic error reporting.
• Seamless tool integration.
• Content assist.
• Syntax highlighting.
• Code formatting.
• Code navigation.

Wrapping Up

If you already know above-mentioned tools, you are already a pro. However, if you are looking to learn and master these PHP development tools, Developers Academy is the best place.