RE: [PHP] Your opinion needed[Scanned]

Ryan, I think I asked a similar question about a year ago when I was thinking about getting the Zend IDE for PHP. The feedback I got was mixed. Whilst applications such as this save some time in the more laborious parts of the coding they also take time to get to grips with. This detracts from the time saved. As you are also finding they often seem to take control away from the programmer in how to structure the code and what to leave in or out. I think one of the most powerful arguments against their use that was put to me was that whilst they can save time in presenting ready-made libraries you can generally build your own libraries of useful functions over time anyway. I confess I have stuck to using a text editor. I feel it's enabled me to devote my time to understanding the underlying syntax of both PHP and MySQL which has proved enormously beneficial. I'm not left relying on a third party's interpretation of these languages. HTH, Michael Egan