Hi there! Are you a PHP developer? What editor and server stack do you usually use in your work?

For many years, I have been relying on Sublime Text as my go-to code editor and XAMPP for server management, which included PHPMyAdmin. However, recently I received feedback that this setup is not ideal for serious development (especially in regards to XAMPP). It got me thinking - what makes this not a serious setup?

As a result, I decided to make a switch from Sublime to PHPStorm for my PHP development needs. Do you have any recommendations for good PHP development environments?

For basic development, PHPStorm is a suitable option, while any editor such as VSC, Atom, Sublime, Nano, and Vim can be used for quick or small edits.

Server-wise, I prefer utilizing packages with occasional exceptions, followed by handles.

PHPMyAdmin or similar analogs for other databases are outdated since 2010. For remote access via SSH/HTTP tunnel, I use either the console or Guevye toolzas.

Terms such as Dockers, Vagrants, "identical production environment," and "assemblies - shit" are often just buzzwords. Although sometimes necessary and useful, they are not always applicable to everyone and every situation.

Developing alone allows for the freedom to use what's most convenient, while developing in a team requires compatibility with other participants' projects. As long as everyone understands the language features and follows accepted conventions, what one uses to spin their code is of no concern.

My essential tools for work are PhpStorm and Sublime for coding, Navicat for database management (which I've used for over 15 years), Gitkraken or git-fork for version control, Insomnia for API testing, and Vagrant for virtualization.

However, when working with a docker on a non-local machine, I often struggle. Any environment that's more complex than running just four containers requires the use of bash scripts, and this tends to confuse me and make me lose motivation to continue working on it.

PhpStorm is a versatile IDE that offers tools such as Xdebug for debugging, integration with databases, and HTTP request testing. To replicate a production server environment as closely as possible, one can use either Vagrant or Docker.

Using XAMPP today depends on the specific tasks at hand. For back-end scripts that are straightforward and don't require complex application architecture or database management systems like Kafka or Redis, deploying them on a PHP host with testing is enough. With the PHP webserver, it's possible to use SQLite instead of a large database. This setup is sufficient for developing web services that can display content to users.

Many developers and software engineers consider PHPStorm to be a highly capable and efficient integrated development environment (IDE) for PHP development. It is known for its robust feature set, including intelligent code completion, debugging capabilities, version control integration, and support for various frameworks and technologies commonly used in PHP development.
The switch from Sublime Text to PHPStorm can be advantageous for serious PHP development due to several reasons. PHPStorm provides more advanced features tailored specifically for PHP development, such as seamless integration with popular PHP frameworks like Symfony, Laravel, and CodeIgniter. Additionally, PHPStorm offers powerful refactoring tools, code analysis, and automated code inspections, which can significantly enhance productivity and code quality.

As for server stack, while XAMPP is a convenient solution for setting up a local development environment, it may lack certain features and configurations necessary for managing complex or production-level applications. Some developers may opt for more robust server stacks such as LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP), which provide greater flexibility, performance, and security options.

In terms of code editors, while Sublime Text is favored by many developers for its speed and simplicity, PHPStorm offers a more comprehensive set of tools dedicated to PHP development. Its deep integration with PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, along with support for version control systems such as Git, make it a compelling choice for those seeking a specialized environment for PHP-centric projects.