Using a Mac for PHP development is great for some people, but I prefer Linux. If you’re one that prefers a Mac then you may be missing out on a few PHP development tools that are more commonly used in Windows.
In this article we have the top online PHP development tools for Mac….
Write Code Online
A simple code editor that lets you write and test your PHP code in one window. check it out
Amy Editor
A Collaborative Text and Source Code Editor for Developers.check it out
Kodingen
Even though this editor is still in beta, it is pretty powerful. Lets you connect to your own FTP servers and gives you shell access to your files. check it out
CodeRun Studio
CodeRun Studio is a cross-platform Integrated Development Environment (IDE), designed for the cloud. It enables you to easily develop, debug and deploy web applications using your browser.
IdeOne
Ideone is an online compiler and debugging tool which allows to compile and run code online in more than 40 programming languages. check it out
ShiftEdit
ShiftEdit is a editor that lets you work in several languages at the same time, while also checks your code mistakes as you type.check it out
PHP Code Editor
This PHP Code Editor is a web based interface to edit your code. Here, you can edit a multiple number of files at the same time and also connect to your servers using FTP.
PHPFiddle
PHPFiddle is probably the most popular free online editor for PHP. PhpFiddle let you create, execute, and test PHP code snippets. Apart from PHP, it also supports HTML, Javascript and MYSQL, which means you can build a fully functional web project using PHPFiddle.
One of the good feature that it offers is auto code generation based on the selections you make in the beginning. You can select various PHP libraries, database libraries, and sample code to be included in the initial code. PHPFiddle also offers APIs for developers, using which you can submit the code to be executed and it returns the execution results in JSON format.
Another great feature offered by PHPFiddle is the widgets, you can use widgets in your web pages or application and your webpage or application becomes the live PHP editor or execution environment.
Read more about PHPFiddle here at – PHPFiddle.org
CodeEnvy
This is a commercial product, popular among professional developers, with customers including SAP, Redhat, Intuit and Youth Digital.The cloud environment provides development workspaces for multiple languages including PHP. Codenvy is built on top of Eclipse Che which is an open source project supported by the community and sponsored by many organizations.
In the commercial space, CodeEnvy competes with top online coding workspace providers like Koding, codeAnywhere and Cloud 9. For individual developers there is a free community edition available as well and the capabilities of free CodeEnvy version are good enough to get your PHP journey started with an online PHP IDE.
You can read more about CodeEnvy here at – codenvy.com.
WritePHPOnline: Simple Online PHP Editor
WritePHPOnline is one of the most simple PHP Editor online which doesn’t bring in any jazzy features. The only thing it lets you do is write or copy/paste php code snippet, run it and see the output, apart from letting you beautify the code with PHP beautifier.
Another simple website similar to WritePHPOnline is RunPHPOnline, it is also simple and offers powerful online PHP interpreter for professionals and students. It is user friendly, offers instant execution and is safe to use, free of cost.
Check it out here at – Write PHP Live Online.
Cloud 9
One of the most sophisticated and feature rich development environment in the cloud is Cloud 9. With more than 40 languages supported in the cloud, it is the most used online IDE and offers class A support for PHP projects for enterprises.
Offers seamless support for PHP CMS systems like WordPress and you can develop websites in a rapid development environment provided by cloud 9 and test in more than 300+ browser/OS combinations. Cloud 9 is a very popular product in the commercial space and is used heavily by developers of small, medium and large scale organizations.
If you are an individual developer or a freelancer, it also offers a free version where you get one free private workspace, one free public workspace and the regular support of community.
You can read more about Cloud9 here at – cloud9.
Remoteinterview.io
This one is a website that intends to ease out interviewing process.Yyou can create interview sessions and share with candidates, who can write code live, can run the code and evaluate the candidates. The online code challenges need feature rich editor and remoteinterview.io has one for PHP interviews.
It lets you run PHP code as console application which helps you interview PHP and html developers, you can use it freely and anonymously.
Here is the link with more information – Remoteinterview.io PHP console.
Tutorialspoint.com
TutorialsPoint is best known for its tutorials on various programming languages which include some great tutorials on PHP web development. One of the great feature this site has to offer is the online code execution environment for PHP.
You learn PHP doing the tutorials and run the code right there live in the web browser, this makes learning fun and fast. The online PHP shell offered by tutorials point doesn’t just offer option to run PHP code but also let you manage small scale code projects online.
You can Check out tutorials Point PHP Editor Online here at – Edit PHP Online.
PHPAssist
Another simple PHP editor that is easy to use and free of cost is PHPAssist, You might like its neat interface and features that include Live running environment, support for popular PHP frameworks, code snippets, option to share the code and cloning the project and a visual editor.
You can experience PHP, view and try new code without the getting into installations and server configurations, quick and easy on PHPAssist website.
Read more – PHPAssist – PHP Editor Online.
Ideone.com
Ideone.com is another great option to play around with PHP code in the browser and to learn basic concepts of PHP without the need to setup your system. With Ideone.com, you can write PHP source code, provide any input parameters using stdin, and run the code to see the output live.
This online php code editor is good for learning purpose but does not provide required features for full project management and hence, of course, not suited for enterprise grade PHP projects. Key features include online PHP execution environment, debugging tool, syntax highlighting, option to download source code, and option to share the code with public, you can also keep your code private and the tool is free to use.
Additional features from code analysis perspective include code execution time reporting, memory usage details, error messages and support for various PHP versions. The online PHP execution environment of Ideone.com is based on Sphere Engine which is a powerful engine to compile and execute many programming languages online.
You can read more about Ideone here at – ideone.com.
Sourcelair
PHP is among the most used language in for web development and Sourcelair is among some of the top cloud IDEs that provide great support for PHP development online. Sourcelair is a fully integrated programming environment that supports multiple languages and works great as a fully functional online PHP IDE.
You get free access for limited period, for evaluation, post which you need to purchase it, if you like it. Some of the key features of Sourcelair include git and hg integration, auto save, pip package manager, Linux terminal, auto complete, drag and drop files from desktop to online environment, theme-able editor, code folding, syntax checking etc.
You can read more about Sourcelair here at – Sourcelair.com.
PhpStorm
Integrated development environment
The subject of code editing and developing environments has sparked more religious debates than I care to count. Some programmers swear by going old school, relying solely on the command line and editors like vi and emacs. Some coders prefer light-duty text editors. Others prefer more extendable editors like Atom and Sublime Text. And still other coders, myself included, prefer full-blown integrated development environments like PhpStorm, Visual Studio Code, and Xcode (mainly for its Mac and iOS native development tools).
My weapon of choice has been PhpStorm. I’ve been using it for years. It has an excellent integrated debugging environment that allows for both local and remote debugging. It also has a wide range of other integrated features I use daily, ranging from its own terminal window to file synchronization to version control and line-by-line file history. Plus, it has a rich selection of plugins that expand and enhance the coding experience.
Some of my favorite plugins include:
- Rainbow Brackets: A wonderful plugin that matches brackets not only with lines but colors. It makes it very easy to see what code belongs to what other code.
- String Manipulation: All sorts of string tweaks, case conversions, and more.
- WordPress: Syntax and WordPress-aware function formatting, along with support for WordPress hooks. A must for any WordPress plugin coder.
Local
Local development environment
When coding for the web, it’s often best to have a local development stack. Local is one such stack. It provides Nginx or Apache, MySQL, a PHP install with Xdebug, and a number of other resources, most notably a tunnel so internet-based resources can access the local environment for coding and testing, a built-in SSL integration, and MailHog, which intercepts email for email-based application testing. Oh, and it’s free.View now at Local
Conclusion
You’re just about to master the art of PHP development, and who knows? Maybe one day, you’ll become a master developer. I know it won’t be easy. There will be days that feel like you’re walking up a steep incline with no end in sight — and it might even get dark — but I promise… you will make it to the top. The point is, you need all the best tools at your disposal if you want to get there.