I recently began to wonder if there was an IDE out there that would suit my style of development better than Dreamweaver. As a result, I began scouring the internet for reviews and information on other PHP environments, which would hopefully speed up my development process. After trying such applications as Komodo and Zend Studio, I decided to check out Eclipse. I had looked into Eclipse almost a year ago, and had never actually installed it. It seemed daunting to me at the time, though I can no longer remember why. In actuality, the installation and transition has been smooth.

Installation
To install, first go to http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp and download the Java Runtime Environment. Eclipse is a Java application. Then, head over to http://www.eclipse.org to download the latest Eclipse version.

Once you’ve done that, you can visit http://www.zend.com/de/pdt to get Zen’s PHP IDE for Eclipse. With that, you’ll get quick reference to PHP functions, PHP code completion, and the possibility to get local debugging installed. This part was a little tricky though, as i had to download the full PDT version to get some of the required libraries (just copy this plugin directory to the plugin directory of the Eclipse you downloaded from eclipse.org). Not too bad though.

The best part of installing Eclipse, is that you don’t actually install Eclipse. Once you unzip it, and copy over the plugins folder from the PDT version on Zend.com, double-click the .exe and you’re up and running. Adding plugins to Eclipse is easy too - follow the instructions for updating on the Zend site and you’ll be able to add anything, because the method is the same - only the links will change.

Add-ons
Beyond the PHP IDE (if you use PHP) - get a hold of Aptana, a Javascript/HTML/CSS IDE for Eclipse. It also comes with an FTP tool, though it is a little basic. It won’t do the ‘upload to server on save’ action that Dreamweaver will, but you can right-click a file and select synchronize to upload. This minor negative hardly outweighs the benefits.

There are two more things you’ll probably want to download for Eclipse - a plugin to allow virtual word wrapping (no, word wrapping is not available by default - there’s a good explanation out there if you google it). Here’s the link. Also, an application so you can view images in folder’s within the eclipse structure. This just makes it easier to upload images through the Eclipse FTP, instead of having to use a separate program (though you WILL need one to do things like change folder permissions). You can get one here.

Features
I’ve been using Dreamweaver for years, and Homesite before that. Moving to Eclipse was relatively painless, because of the areas where it outshines Dreamweaver.

1. Price
   It’s free, the PHP IDE is free, Aptana is free. You can’t beat that.
2. Function Reference and Folding
   I don’t mean referring to PHP or Javascript functions (though it provides that also). Instead, I’m talking about the window on the right side that shows all of your functions and classes, so you can find the one you need quickly and easily. Default code folding also assists in speeding up location times.
3. Highlighting
   Eclipse highlights the line of text you are currently editing. This may not seem like much, but I find it very handy.
4. Code Completion / Class Reference
   Did you write your own class, want to reference it, but can’t remember the parameters? Just leave your mouse over the function call and it will show you.
5. Proper Indenting
   I always fought with DW to get it to tab-indent properly. Not only does Eclipse do it automatically when you open a curly brace, but it indents properly nearly all of the time.
6. Performance
   Dreamweaver also seemed a bit bloated to me - perhaps it was all the WYSYWIG stuff that I never used… In any case, Eclipse is much quicker, though it does love to use your memory - generally about 200mb.

I’ve been using Eclipse for about a week now, and I would recommend anyone to give it a shot. It may not be for everyone, but its certainly made me a more efficient programmer.

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