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Inspiring
December 17, 2017
Answered

Learning PHP on Dreamweaver?

  • December 17, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 3599 views

Can I learn PHP on Adobe Dreamweaver?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer osgood_

    Yes DW is a perfectly capable web editor for learning and working with entry level php and l would advise you to use such an editor if you are a beginner with php.

    Once you are a more competent php developer you may wish to further develop with php in a more dedicated IDE, which offers more capabilities once or if you need to produce more complex php built applications but for all but a few who intend to focus solely on php a dedicated IDE will not be that necessary.

    To start learning php in a more php dedicated environment infact could be a wrong choice as the program will attempt to hold your hand which will hinder your ability to write some simple application/coding without being child minded.

    3 replies

    osgood_Correct answer
    Legend
    December 17, 2017

    Yes DW is a perfectly capable web editor for learning and working with entry level php and l would advise you to use such an editor if you are a beginner with php.

    Once you are a more competent php developer you may wish to further develop with php in a more dedicated IDE, which offers more capabilities once or if you need to produce more complex php built applications but for all but a few who intend to focus solely on php a dedicated IDE will not be that necessary.

    To start learning php in a more php dedicated environment infact could be a wrong choice as the program will attempt to hold your hand which will hinder your ability to write some simple application/coding without being child minded.

    rayek.elfin
    Legend
    December 17, 2017

    An IDE like Netbeans doesn't "hold your hands". A beginner can start with a simple empty html file with a single php tag, and as the user learns more about PHP the application grows with the user to accommodate more complex options and support for the various popular PHP frameworks.

    With Dreamweaver, however, the limits are reached relatively quickly, and the user will then have to switch to something more suitable. In any case, one of the primary skills of any coder is debugging code - how is the beginner supposed to learn this without a proper PHP debugger?

    Anyway, in the end it doesn't matter that much, I guess. But I would personally never suggest DW as a PHP coding platform to a serious beginner.

    B i r n o u
    Legend
    December 18, 2017

    I agree with your point,

    I will add that an other problem with DW's IDE is that beside the debugger tool, one haven't any other server side tool... like SQL environment, connexion test, and other binding items

    and now in DW purely code editor speaking ... the last DW builds lost their mind in code format, code coloring, function search, variables panels, datas bindings and so on...

    rayek.elfin
    Legend
    December 17, 2017

    Sure, you can learn PHP with Notepad, if required.

    But you'd best get a proper IDE that supports good built-in PHP debugging, offers a database inspector, etc. Netbeans is free, and highly regarded as a great PHP coding environment. But I am biased, because I love coding PHP in Netbeans myself ;-)

    BenPleysier
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    December 17, 2017

    Short Answer: Yes.

    Long Answer: There are many editors and IDE's that may be better than Dreamweaver. I do use Dreamweaver for my PHP programming, but this is because I also use extensions that do most of the heavy work for me. For an overview of what may be a better option, have a look at Top Code Editors and IDE for PHP Development of 2017

    Wappler is the DMXzone-made Dreamweaver replacement and includes the best of their powerful extensions, as well as much more!