About the NetBeans IDE for PHP

The NetBeans IDE (Integrated Developer Environment) for PHP provides tools for PHP programmers. The core of NetBeans PHP support is the PHP Editor, which includes code completion and other programming aids. NetBeans IDE for PHP can also be integrated with the Xdebug debugger, PHPUnit tester, and PHPDocumentor documentation generator.

Please note that the NetBeans IDE is designed to be as lightweight as possible. It does not contain visual design tools or other heavy-duty features.

Databases

The NetBeans IDE supports work with databases. Open the Services window and register your database by right-clicking the Databases node. You may need to add the path to your database driver as well. NetBeans IDE provides a tree view of database contents and an SQL editor. For more information, see Connecting to a Database.

Remote Development

The NetBeans IDE includes support for Subversion, Mercurial, and Git versioning systems. You can also add CVS support as a plugin. See About Collaborative Development.

NetBeans also provides basic support for FTP/SFTP, sufficient for a lone developer to work on a simple project. If you are working on a complicated project or with multiple developers, you should use a version control system. If you must use FTP/SFTP with a complicated project, consider using the IDE in combination with a full-featured FTP client.

Public Releases and Development Builds

To see the latest features and try them out while they are in progress, install a daily development build of the IDE. For a safer alternative, use the public release. Both public release and development builds can be installed from http://netbeans.org/downloads/index.html. Look for the Development link.

Getting Help

In addition to the topics shown here, NetBeans IDE for PHP provides the following sources of information:

For a more detailed description of NetBeans PHP Editor features, please see

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