George Pitcher wrote:
I used Eclipse a few years ago when I was pretending to be a java developer.
I use Eclipse for 1 1/2 year now and just lately it became nice for what
I need (decent PDT, decent Subclipse).
Can't imagine what it looked like few years ago.
Since then I've mainly been using Dreamweaver, which works well with Smarty, and the 30-odd sites I manage.
How easy would it be for me to move my existing PHP sites into Eclipse, or do they need to be started off as projects?
I stopped using Dreamweaver at version 4 which had so many bugs they
never fixed, even in 4.01.
Don't know how it has progressed since then.
Basically Eclipse does nothing to the code. It adds two folders .project
and .settings to the project and needs somewhere to store non-project
settings.
So there is nothing much to be moved.
For me the most powerful features are (no idea how Dreamweaver does that) -
a) Powerful integration between PDT and Subversion (or CVS, if you
prefer). You see the version information in the file browser, in the
search results, everywhere.
b) Powerful Subversion integration (Subclipse). Diffs across the
history, branches, tags, etc., are done with 2-3 clicks.
c) Powerful local history. Eclipse can be configured to remember
massively local changes, so if you mess up something, you can go back
basically second by second and minute by minute and see what you did when.
d) Powerful search. PDT understands php so if you are looking for a
function or a method - it takes zero time to find it even in a huge
project. Eclipse remembers all searches you have done and dynamically
updates the search result when you change files, so you can switch
between different search result with one click.
e) Outline. You have both current file and project outline showing you
all classes, methods, properties, constants - for one click access.
f) ... There is so much more, I have to write a book to tell you everything.
The best of all is that it's free in a big way - it's backed by IBM,
etc. and there are tons of powerful projects that develop Eclipse modules.
All this does not mean you will be happier with Eclipse. The habit is a
big thing and if you know Dreamweaver, you may be happier to stay there.
Plus, Eclipse need some effort to be discovered, it is unconventional
thing and at first one does know where to start.
But since I use it, the good surprises haven't stopped, and the pleasure
to know that there are more on the way is a nice thing to have.
Iv
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