As every company has unique business needs, it would be unwise to look for one-size-fits-all software systems. Instead, make a list of essential features and evaluate whether the app provides these.
Help team development with tight CVS integration that makes performing CVS operations directly from Zend Studio 5 possible, including Dojo library integration for Content Assist options and refactoring.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software tool that gives developers all of the tools necessary to transform code into functioning applications and programs. While text editors like Sublime or Atom are dedicated to syntax highlighting, an IDE offers more features which enable developers to quickly build and debug applications quickly and easily.
Zend Studio is a feature-rich PHP IDE designed to meet all aspects of application lifecycle development, from design through deployment. With editing, debugging, analysis, optimization, database and project management tools that accelerate development cycles while simplifying complex projects.
Not only does it feature a multi-paned interface with sections for editing, exploring projects and monitoring script output, it also supports PHP debugging by enabling users to step into functions, step over functions or monitor variables, stack and error log – helping resolve problems as they arise while seeing how an application performs in real-time. SVN and CVS support makes team collaboration easy!
PHP Web Page Debug
With PHP Web Page Debug, you can step through the execution of scripts and debug your PHP application step-by-step, making this an invaluable feature when developing web applications, as it enables you to identify errors quickly and resolve them before impacting users directly.
Line breakpoints can be set both within the IDE and context window, and placed only on executable lines (not comments, declarations or empty lines). You can easily toggle line breakpoints either from the main menu or by clicking in the gutter area.
Zend Studio comes complete with the Xdebug debugger, making debugging simpler than ever without needing additional plugins or licenses.
The IDE supports PHP 7 and includes a migration tool that quickly moves existing code over to the latest version. Furthermore, its smart code editor understands your code’s structure to guide and complete intelligently while making refactoring simpler.
PHP Debugging
Zend Studio supports PHP debugging through xdebug, enabling users to set breakpoints and examine variable values. When a breakpoint is hit, code execution pauses so you can step through line by line. Furthermore, “watch expressions” allow Zend Studio IDE to inspect any variable and display its value when hovering over one in a dialog box.
The IDE provides a multipaned interface that’s separated into areas for editing, exploring projects, monitoring script output and advanced debugging features. Any pane you don’t wish to use can easily be hidden away.
The IDE provides code assist and syntax highlighting of both PHP and HTML code, along with powerful search function and refactoring tools, graphical code folding for classes, functions and PHPdoc blocks to increase productivity as well as database management tools to assist with source control (SVN, CVS, Git and GitHub) framework and cloud solutions like Zend Server’s remote debugging capabilities.
PHP Profiling
PHP may still be a performance bottleneck for large-scale web applications despite its impressive scalability, so to ensure every cycle from its engine is maximized it is important to perform performance profiling in an ideal controlled environment, using real data and client connections that replicate application load; then optimize any code snippets which cause excessive load times.
The PHP Profile Perspective is a graphical user interface (GUI) designed to display the results of profiling sessions. It includes several views that display performance data such as total request time, script execution breakdown by script, function call distribution distribution by function call type and timelines for requests.
An amazing feature of remote profiling is its capability of profiling files on servers remotely without their presence in Workspaces, using either Xdebug or Zend Debugger as necessary to perform this feat. This functionality is particularly handy when developing mobile apps as the IDE can use remote validation of code remotely.
Code Inspection
Code inspection is an invaluable method for improving software quality by uncovering defects and problems, while finding better solutions. Code inspection can be conducted in various forms including formal reviews, pair programming sessions or using one of many dedicated code inspection tools available today.
Code inspection can be an arduous and time-consuming task that demands collaboration among team members. To ensure its smooth running, set aside enough time for this process and assign tasks based on technical expertise among your team members. Furthermore, have someone oversee the process as an moderator or chairperson so as to maintain smoothness throughout.
Zend Studio features comprehensive support for PHP Intelligence, an advanced code quality feature which detects errors and performance bottlenecks before they reach production. Zend Studio’s powerful local and remote debugging, PHPUnit testing framework integration, streamlined source control integration and Z-Ray real-time application performance analysis tool help developers write faster and more reliable code more quickly than ever. In addition, there’s the XMLService Toolkit to allow developers to extend their applications for use with IBM i resources like RPG/COBOL program calls/DB2/400 data queues/spool files etc.
PHPUnit
Your company could benefit greatly from having the appropriate software system in place, but selecting an IDE software solution depends on many crucial elements like required features, finances, skill levels of employees etc. To select one that will meet all these criteria, do your homework to eliminate systems that do not meet them before selecting one that does. Checking reviews like Zend Studio IDE Software reviews could provide detailed insight that helps you find your perfect match!
Zend Studio provides developers with an integrated set of tools for developing back-end, front-end, and mobile systems in an integrated environment. The IDE also aids developers in quickly solving application issues more quickly while increasing productivity and team collaboration. Furthermore, it features an industry-leading PHP development environment for faster debugging and higher application quality; additionally it supports Apache Cordova framework for cross-platform mobile app coding using JavaScript/HTML5. In addition, integrations exist with Zend Server/Red Hat OpenShift are offered through this studio.
Code Documentation
Code documentation refers to the process of producing easily understood images and written descriptions that explain how a codebase operates and is useful. This could mean anything from adding explanatory comments above functions and blocks, to writing a full-fledged developer handbook with style guidelines and overviews of how each component fits together.
Documenting codebases is another essential step towards making it more understandable by stakeholders outside of the development team. This can be accomplished by creating both external code documentation (like API references or open source project README files ) and internal user documentation ( such as help pages or introduction guides ).
Zend Studio can automatically format PHP code according to a set of rules that ensure it is easily navigable and readable, providing an automated solution. You can configure its settings under Window | Preferences | PHP Formatter.
Integration with popular technologies
Zend Studio seamlessly combines popular technologies such as Java, PHP and open source software into its integrated development environment (IDE), debugging tools, code coverage analysis capabilities and comprehensive testing capabilities for creating Web applications that provide rich user experiences.
The IDE provides a smart code editor that quickly understands the structure of code, making refactoring simpler. Furthermore, this IDE supports new PHP 5.3 features like namespaces and closures to facilitate creating applications using Zend Framework quickly.
IDE also facilitates developers’ ability to quickly develop and deploy mobile applications using PHP-based backend services, speeding up development. Furthermore, Eclipse Marketplace Client makes finding and installing community plugins easy while Apigility enables them to quickly document and test APIs that form back-end services of applications.
