Install a PHP IDE editor

Instructor: [0:00] There are many different options when it comes to setting up a PHP editor. PHP is so simple that you can even use a plain text editor, such as Notepad, TextEdit, or command line. Even though I still use command line and Vim to edit files a lot, I'm almost always coding in a full-blown editing program.

[0:19] In order to gain syntax highlighting, real-time air notifications, suggestions for code fixes, or many other benefits, you'll need a real IDE, or integrated development environment, for coding up your PHP programs. The two most popular editors in the PHP world are VSCode and PhpStorm.

[0:40] VSCode has been making ground and seems to be preferred by many new PHP developers because it loads very quick, and best of all, it's completely free. You can go to code.visualstudio.com to download and install it for your platform. I still very much prefer JetBrains Phpstorm, though, because it's so fully featured.

[1:04] As soon as you get into more complex PHP code and need to debug code with Xdebug, step into parent classes, plug in some advanced editor configuration, or some other plug-in, PhpStorm is, without a doubt, the best-in-class PHP editor.

[1:21] I'll be using PhpStorm throughout this course, just so you know, but you can feel free to follow along in VSCode or any other PHP editor. You will not need a full-blown editor to take this course.

[1:34] Once PhpStorm is open, go ahead and create a new project. We will select this PHP Empty project toggle. I store all my projects within my Local Sites directory. I will just call this app My PHP. After that's set, PhpStorm will be open to that My PHP directory, and you are ready to start coding.