Joomla Developer Manual

Integrated Development Environments¶

An Integrated Development Environment (IDE) is a software application that provides a comprehensive suite of tools to facilitate software development. It typically includes:

1. Code Editor: A text editor optimized for writing code, often with features like syntax highlighting and code completion.
2. Compiler/Interpreter: Tools to translate and execute code.
3. Debugger: A tool to find and fix errors in the code.
4. Build Automation Tools: Utilities to streamline the compilation and deployment process.
5. Version Control Integration: Support for tools like Git to manage code changes.
6. Additional Features: Features such as plugins, testing tools, and visual design components.

IDEs aim to streamline development by combining these tools in a unified interface, reducing the need to switch between different applications. Examples include Visual Studio and Eclipse.

IDEs Used by Joomla Contributors¶

You can get started with an IDE very quickly. However, they often have a bewildering array of functions and settings that take a long time to learn. Once learned, it is not so easy to change! The following IDEs can be used on Linux, Mac and Windows.

Visual Studio Code and VSCodium¶

Visual Studio Code is a free IDE available for all platforms. VSCodium is a derivative free of tracking code. Use one or both at the same time. If in doubt, install one or other or both of these packages.

PhpStorm¶

PhpStorm is a commercial product favoured by professional developers. Available from Jetbrains, it has a 30 day free trial period followed by a range of prices depending on user type.

NetBeans¶

Apache NetBeans ...

Eclipse PDT¶

Eclipse PHP Development Tools is free and good but its development has lagged a little.