Five Best Tips for the Ideal PHP Developer

The best code snippets should come in handy
Most of the developers are required to code a lot of the same things through most of the PHP development process and hence one should keep code snippets handy. Keeping them will always help you save a lot of time. One would find several apps which can help in syncing one’s code snippet collection, so that they are accessible wherever one is. Some of the apps which help in safeguarding your code collection are Snippet, Code Collector, and Snipplr.

Most integrated development environments (IDEs) have built-in features for storing code snippets like Dreamweaver and Eclipse. An organized directory of snippets which contain varied PHP scripts should be kept in the cloud so that they are accessible when you are accessing multiple computers for coding.

A Good Source Editor Saves Time
The source editor is where a PHP Programmer spends most of his or her time so use an editor which can save time for you. Some source editors include the feature of syntax highlighting which is a must for an editor and can help in pointing out syntax errors. Features such as code hinting and code navigation also go a long way to build code. One of the better source code editors is phpDesigner which is used by many PHP developers.

Get familiar with the source code editor and its features by first browsing through the documentation and tutorials which you would invariably find online. Investing time in reading tips is essential for good code development.

Use an efficient MySQL Administration Tool 
Some developers like working with MySQL via command line which is quite inefficient for several uses. One should administer the MySQL database using different commands like mysqladmin. But it is necessary to use an efficient graphical user interface like phpMyAdmin to rev up database administration.

phpMyAdmin is a fantastic open source database viewer which allows one to view MySQL databases in a graphical format. One shouldn’t waste time by using the command line. With a good administration tool and graphical interface, one can build databases and their tables, export databases into SQL files, optimize tables, create MySQL database users and attach privileges quickly. Many web hosts have phpMyAdmin installed, and if they do not, it takes only some minutes to install.

Use of a PHP Framework
Use of a web application development framework can help developers out. One needs to do a lot of reading and learning to know the functions of the API of the framework but once done, there are many productivity benefits later. One might be then using better web development patterns which one has never used.

A PHP framework helps when one has to share code with others who are working on the same project and hence gives a standard platform to work on.
Some of the most popular PHP frameworks include CakePHP, CodeIgniter, and Zend.

Connect and Learn from other PHP Developers
One can never know it all. Hence one should share and learn from the thousands of other PHP developer who might know how to do something better than how you do. By participating in a PHP community, one can learn better ways of performing PHP development.