I've downloaded evaluation copies of it before. I've gone as far as to install it. But I never spent much time with it. As a vi type guy, I've had a tendency to stay away from big IDE's for PHP development. That is I did, until I started playing with KDevelop. While it didn't get me 100% of the way to where I wanted to be, the integrated CVS tools and object browsing was enough to get me hooked.
With my switch to the Mac Mini and my still messed up key mappings, I decided it was time to try the Zend IDE out for real. Installation was easy enough, though as of right now the local server isn't working quite right, and I don't have a remote one setup yet. So, I've not even touched the debugging portions of it yet.
But what I have done is started editing my code in it. The editor is suprisingly fast on this machine for being a Java application. Seems that they're working hard to change my biases against Java based applications. The code completion bit is fast and works great. The file and object browser work great, and if that wasn't enough to justify using it, the integrated SQL connectivity as really nice. I like having the ability to browse a tree of my database objects and run queries right from my editor instead of alt-tabbing to a terminal window or pgAdmin III.
Like the Mac Mini, I'm going to give it a bit to see if it sticks, but I must say, it's a good start.
Zend IDE: A Surpise
Posted on July 12, 2005
Mac Mini, Still Happy
Posted on July 12, 2005
Ok, it hasn't been a month yet, but I wanted to drop a note that I've been liking my Mini at work, I've switched to using one at home. Out of the box, it's not that great of an advertisement for Apple. The performance is slow and not usable. But using the mods I talked about in my previous entry, it's a nice machine to use. If you want to go this route you definitely need 1GB of ram if you expect to use it on a regular basis. The 7,200 RPM hard drive is essential too. Why Apple doesn't ship with this by default is beyond me. The wholesale prices on these guys must be negligible, and they should eat the loss to broaden their userbase. When someone pulls one of these quite boxes with a tiny footprint out of the box, they should be impressed with how speedy and nimble it is, not just the small price tag and elegant OS.
sIFRFonts.com Help Wanted
Posted on July 12, 2005
I'm looking for help in maintaining sIFRFonts.com. In essense, I need someone to help make sIFR fonts and upload them and their details. If you're interested in helping, please email me.
