Davey Shafik has put together a list of four of the more popular PHP IDEs offered today - Zend Studio, Eclipse with the PDT extension, Komodo and NetBeans - and posted a comparison table of key features and preferences.

I have continued using Zend Studio 5.5 but have been looking for alternatives as it will not be updated to support new features like Namespaces, Closures and Traits. So far, I have tried Zend Studio for Eclipse/PDT, PHPEclipse (briefly), Komodo IDE and Netbeans. None of them have come close to replacing ZDE except for Netbeans. Below is some requirements and a comparison table for these I have tried so far.

He includes the specifications he's evaluating them on (including cross-platform with Windows, Linux and OS X) and the full list of "yes", "no" and "sort of" for each thing on the list. The criteria include:

• Inclusion of a debugger
• Inclusion of a profiler
• Auto-complete for user code and PHP functions
• Integration of revision control
• Project support
• Customizable interface

For those Komodo users that are working with CakePHP and have thought "there has to be a better way", Matt Curry has created a screencast showing a few helpful hints on developing in popular IDE.

I suck at screencasts; I know this. If I keep doing them, I'm bound to get better, right? Is it possible to get worse at something the more you do it? Anyway, I made a quick screencast showing off some CakePHP features with Komodo IDE. Leave a comment with your favorite CakePHP related IDE trick.

He talks about the "automatic" auto-completion the IDE can do once its scanned the CakePHP source, how Komodo knows about properties in the classes as well as helpers and how to set up the Bake and Cake commands as shortcuts for quick access.

On the SitePoint PHP blog today Kevin Yank takes a look at a recent version of the NetBeans IDE (version 6.5) that comes bundled with improved PHP support.

Long dismissed as a "toy Java IDE", NetBeans - Sun's open source Integrated Development Evironment (IDE)-has really grown up in recent years. No longer is it just for Java, either: for web developers, NetBeans 6.5 now supports Ruby and PHP out of the box. Surprisingly, that support is so good that it now compares favourably to more established competitors like Eclipse, Komodo IDE, and Zend Studio.

He mentions the built-in/user-defined auto-complete the has built in as well as code templates, support for phpdoc documentation blocks, and other functionality for helping with Javascript, HTML and CSS.

In a new blog post Cal Evans shares a solution he's come up with to help simplify his PHP development - using the Sun VirtualBox software to create a self-contained, controlled environment to run his scripts.

The more I thought about it though, the more I realized there had to be a better way. My current setup doesn't allow me to do things like test PHP 5.3 without setting up a whole new server just for that purpose, or maintain an environment like my production server.

He was looking for something that would work on a laptop, allow for easy environment switching and let him work on multiple projects at once. He came across the VirtualBox software and adapted it to his own needs (including shares folders between instances and multiple instances running Ubuntu) on his local machine.

In a recent quick post Chris Hartjes points out a tool for the Komodo IDE that CakePHP users will find particularly useful.

For those who remember how I was an editor waffler will remember that I play around with Komodo from time to time, and decided to get back into using it again. [...] Now, since I know a few people at Activestate I emailed Jeff Griffiths to ask him a few questions. He responded by hacking together something very quickly for adding code intelligence for CakePHP to your views.

The extension imports the standard CakePHP helpers into view files such as the Ajax, Cache, Javascript, Session and Time helpers.

Davey Shafik has shared a method he's come up with for debugging directly from Firefox with the help of xdebug and the Komodo IDE.

In an effort to switch away from Zend Studio I have been trying out Komodo (again) [...] One of the last barriers to switching, has been to emulate the Zend Studio Toolbar for Firefox (also available for IE) which lets you do lots of great things, from Profiling to Debugging every page. I personally use it mostly for debugging single pages, and forms, as well as for end to end PHP and AJAX debugging - so this was the feature I was mostly looking to emulate.

He found his way through a few small additions to his php.ini file that allow Komodo to connect directly to the remote server and make debugging as easy as adding "?XDEBUG_SESSION_START=1" to the URL of whatever page you're on. He's also made a bookmarklet that turns it on for you as well.

ActiveState, developers of the Komodo IDE have launched a new project - the Open Komodo Project - in an effort to create an open source editing platform:

ActiveState is pleased to announce the creation of the Open Komodo Project, a new initiative to create an open source platform and promote open standards. The Open Komodo Project will support the open web and web standards, fill a need for developer tools in the open web technology stack, and drive further innovation for Komodo IDE and Komodo Edit.

They want to create a framework for development that integrates with other software (like Firefox) and makes development of both simple applications and complex, rich applications simple. Check out the full press release for more information or just head straight to the project's homepage to get started.

Developers wanting to move up in their PHP knowledge should check out the new training schedule that php|architect has posted to their site today:

The September & October 2007 schedule for our online training classes is now available from the training section of our website. php|architect offers PHP training like no other: you can take your classes directly from your home of office without having to sacrifice the experience of being in a real classroom.

They even have a list of reasons to help convince you it's the right way to go. There's currently five classes listed:

• Building Rich Internet Applications With PHP 5 and AJAX
• PHP 5 Essentials
• PHP 5 Certification Combo
• Professional PHP 5
• Web Development with Komodo IDE 4

Check out the list for times, cost, difficulty ratings and class duration for each session.

php|architect has officially launched some new training course offering to help PHP developers expand their knowledge of both the language and the tools they can use to develop it with.

php|architect is proud to announce the addition of two new live, instructor-led training courses to our online training lineup.

The two new courses are:

• Building Rich Internet Applications With PHP 5 and AJAX
• Web Development with Komodo IDE

Both offer up different experiences - the Ajax course focusing on the use of the Yahoo! UI library and the Komodo course focusing on the use of the software application, the Komodo IDE.

As mentioned by both Sean Coates and the International PHP Magazine, ActiveState has release the latest version of their popular development environment - Komodo IDE 4.0.

Komodo IDE 4.0 is the first unified workspace for end-to-end development of dynamic web applications. A rich feature set for client-side Ajax languages such as CSS, HTML, JavaScript and XML, coupled with advanced support for dynamic languages such as Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and Tcl, enables developers to quickly and easily create robust web apps.

Komodo is all about simplicity and helping you write your code. This includes features like a multi-language editor, integrating sharing abilities, the ability to create Firefox-like extensions to add to other applications, and full customization settings to make your worspace your own.

Find out more about the software on Komodo's page or just head over and buy this latest version for a discounted rate of $245 USD. There's also a trial copy you can download and check out before spending the cash.