Essential tools for any PHP developer
Posted on July 27th, 2007 in Apache Server, MySQL, PHP, Web Development, Web Technologies | No Comments »
The following list was written by Chris Neale, of ooer.com fame, and reproduced with permission from the PHP Developers Network Forums
I’m sort of writing a new article listing all the things I use, or should use, to write awesome websites. If you fancy adding to the list then please do, it’d help.
The Obvious
PHP – I think we all know what this is.
MySQL – And this.
Apache – My personal choice of web server mainly because I understand htaccess.Libraries
Swiftmailer – The best PHP mail sending library available bar none.
ADODB Lite – The best database abstraction layer around.
Template Lite – The best template engine.
FPDF – Awesome PDF library.
SHA256 – Hashing replacement for MD5/SHA1.
HTMLPurifier – Stop XSS attacks before they happen.
SimpleTest – Unit Testing library that’ll improve your code no end.
JQuery – Javascript AJAX/effects/make stuff easier type of thing.
JPGraph – Delightful library for charts and graphs in PHP.
ExCanvas – Get < canvas > working seamlessly in IE.Browsers
Firefox – Best browser around.
Internet Explorer – Needed for testing because there’s still people who suffer it.
Opera – Again, needed for testing.
Safari – And again.Extensions and Plugins
Web Developer – Absolutely critical for finding out information about the clientside things.
Firebug – Brilliant javascript console that makes AJAX so much less of a headache to debug.
YSlow – Site speed profiling plugin (needs Firebug).
NoScript – The easy way to test a site with JS and more switched off.
SearchStatus – Site search profiler, find out keyword information, page rank, Alexa rank etc.
XDebug – An awesome PHP debugger/profiler.I’m not really interested in what editor/IDE you use, that’s a very personal choice. I’m interested in things that are absolutely top of their class couldn’t live without them essentials.
Any new developer would do well to glean something from this information.