Writing code in minimum time is an essential skill that every code editor must possess in order to remain productive and competitive. Writing code has become a basic necessity for many emerging segments including IoT and AI.

As many experienced codes will substantiate, the right IDE is vital for maintaining and producing high-quality code. As the new programmers are emerging every single and writing style of code is changing frequently, it has become important for a software developer to possess the right IDE to achieve their objectives.

Now, if you are thinking which is the best IDE for PHP development, then don’t worry. Here in this article, we are bringing into your light some of top 5 IDE tools for PHP.

Let’s dive in :

1. Eclipse

Eclipse is the first name which comes to mind when you talk about the best IDE tools for PHP. Released on 7th Nov 2001, Eclipse has become widely popular due to the flexibility offered by it. It is a cross-platform tool which supports Linux, Mac and Windows. It is a perfect choice if you are looking for a tool to handle large-scale projects.

Here are some of the features of Eclipse :

• Automatic Error Reporting
• Multi-platform support for Plugins
• Seamless Integration of tools
• Git flow supported
•  Support for GUI as well as non-GUI based application.

2. PHPStorm

PHPStorm is the editor, which actually “gets” your code and it also deeply understand the structure of your code. PHPStorm has all the PHP features for modern projects, providing the refactorings, best code compilation, and on-the-fly error prevention. This makes PHPStorm idle for working with CakePHP, Magneto, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress and more.

Here are some of the features of PHPStorm :

• Built-in Developer tools
• Intelligent Coding Assistance
• Smart Code Navigation
• Easy Debugging and Testing
• Fast and Safe Refactoring

3. NetBeans

Came into existence in 1996 and is written in Java, NetBeans is one of the tools for developers. One of the things that make NetBeans the best tool is that it allows the concept of modular development. Although written in Java, it also supports other languages like C/C++, HTML5, and PHP. Moreover, it is available free of cost and multi-language supported.

Some of the features of NetBeans are :

• Smart Code Compilation
• Faster and lightweight than others
• Automation Generation for getter and setter
• Support for Embedded Applications
• Support PHP Frameworks like WordPress, Zend, CakePHP and more.

4. VisualStudio

Visual Studio is a fully featured integrated development environment for iOS, Windows, web, Android, and Cloud. It enables you to write code efficiently without losing the current file context. Moreover, this tool allows you to easily zoom the details such as check-ins, call structure, related function, and test status. You can also take benefit from the facility of refractor and identify with VisualStudio tool.

Some of the features of VisualStudio are :

• Codes can be written swiftly
• Easy to debug and diagnose
• Can be extended
• Can be customized according to your liking
• Collaborate efficiently

5. Zend Studio

With 3 times faster performance than popular IDE tools, Zend Studio allows you to code swiftly, debug more easily and take advantage of performance gains in PHP 7. Zend Studio is the next-generation PHP IDE, which is designed to create high-quality PHP to boost developer’s productivity. It is built to scale according to the DPI settings of the underlying operating system and also supports HiDPi displays.

Here are some of the features of Zend Studio :

• Code performance with performance improvements in validation, indexing, searching of the PHP code
• Robust debugging capabilities with Zend Debugger, Z-Ray integration, and Xdebug.
• Superior PHP 7.1 Support
• Extensive Plugin Capabilities
• Intelligent Code Editor

So, this was all about the best 5 IDE for PHP. For more such updates, stay tuned!