As the whole world is moving towards digitalization, building a robust, scalable, and secured web is an effective solution to keep pace with this advancement. While new programming languages keep emerging every year, PHP still remains the most popular and widely used language for building websites and applications across the globe. PHP development has brought the advancement of various frameworks such as Symfony, Laravel, CakePHP, Yii, CodeIgniter, and many more. Amongst all these PHP frameworks, CodeIgniter is widely used for developing robust web applications. So, to write and maintain high-quality code, developers need to use the best IDE for CodeIgniter. Here in this article, we will discuss the top IDEs to consider for CodeIgniter development services in 2021.

To develop scalable web applications and stay competitive in the market, developers need to write apt code in the given time. The CodeIgniter PHP framework offers plenty of functionalities and toolsets to help developers build web applications with minimal effort.

To fulfill these objectives, PHP developers must choose the right IDE. In this article, you will learn about the best IDEs for CodeIgniter development services. But before jumping into the topic, let’s first understand the fundamentals of an IDE and the CodeIgniter framework.

What is an IDE?

IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment. It is an application that provides a comprehensive facility to the developers for any software development. IDE usually consists of in-built automation tools, code editor, and debugger. Some of the popular IDEs like NetBeans and Eclipse encompass all the essential interpreters or compilers or both, while SharpDevelop and Lazarus do not include them.

Understanding the Differences between IDEs and Source Code Editors

Both IDE and Code Editors come with a few similar features and therefore, it is important to understand the differences between them.

Specifically for the front-end and back end, IDE is a self-sufficient package manager that facilitates the writing, compiling, debugging, and execution of codes in the same place.

On the other hand, a source code editor is a text editor with numerous features that facilitates the process of writing code, either through additional plugins or native capabilities. Generally, IDEs are determined on a single language and encompass the interpreter or compiler and debugger comprehensive to that language.

The code editor fulfills a wide range of purposes in their text editor capacities and therefore, developers need to be competent to work with several programming languages. Both IDEs and code editors have some similar features such as highlighting sections of code, custom folding of code sections, hints, and code completion.

The decision to choose between these two technologies is mainly a matter of personal choice, comprising of specific scripting language and its workflow.

A Brief Overview of the CodeIgniter PHP Framework

CodeIgniter is an open-source PHP framework that is based on the MVC (Model-View- Control) concept. This framework helps developers to build dynamic websites using PHP.  As compared to other PHP frameworks, CodeIgniter is a desirable framework because of its high speed and light-weightiness. This is another reason why businesses prefer to hire CodeIgniter developers for their web app development projects.

With the CI framework, developers can perform various operations like file uploads, session handling, and email sending. Being based on the MVC development pattern, controller class is the primary element of CodeIgniter web development while models and views are non-compulsory.

It can be modified to practice Hierarchical Model View Controller (HMVC) which allows PHP developers to keep modular assembling models, view, and controller organized in the sub-directory layout. The MVC framework helps in creating several processes of the web development cycle concurrently with a proficient design.

MVC comprises the following elements:

• Models – It keeps business logic through smooth functioning through computations and databases.
• Views: It deals with the organization of data supplied by the models.
• Controllers: It establishes a link between views and models.

If you’re looking to hire CodeIgniter developers for your web application development, then you are at the right place. We offer flexible engagement models to give you the freedom to hire CodeIgniter developers as per your requirements and budget.

Now, let’s take a look at the best IDEs for CodeIgniter web development.

Best IDEs for CodeIgniter Development Services

There are several PHP CodeIgniter tools that provide perfect IDEs where web developers can resourcefully build feature-rich, engaging, and innovative applications. However, you should consider the skills of a CodeIgniter developer before selecting the best IDE from the following:

1. NetBeans

NetBeans is the most popular IDE for PHP on the market. It is generally used for HTML5 and JavaScript improvement. This IDE also works well with Java Advancement, C/C++, and PHP CodeIgniter. With Netbeans, you can create amazing workspaces and web applications in a short time span.

NetBeans is accessible in various languages including English, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Brazilian, Japanese, and Portuguese. It is known as an excellent HTML5 IDE and an open-source JavaScript IDE for standard usages.

NetBeans is free to use and is available under the license Apache License 2.0 (previously CDDL or GPLv2 with classpath exception). Platforms supported by Netbeans include Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, Java Platform, Standard Edition, Jakarta EE, and JavaFX. NetBeans can be used for various advancements like AngularJS, Node.js, and Knockout.js.

2. Eclipse

Another very famous web development IDE is Eclipse. It comes with a basic workspace and plugin structure that is scalable and can be customized as per the given environment.

The web development environment for CodeIgniter is Eclipse PDT, for C and C++ is Eclipse CDT, and for Java and Scala, it is Eclipse Java development tools (JDT).

As developers are free to choose from a wide range of plugins, this makes development easier and complex coding simpler. It can also be used to customize and extend the IDE to meet various needs of project management. Eclipse is capable of sustaining both graphical UI and non-graphical UI applications.

Other than this, Eclipse facilitates code templates, code navigation, syntax highlighting, and code formatting.

3. Aptana Studio

This is another famous, open-source IDE for PHP CodeIgniter development services. Aptana Studio is used in integration with various server-side and client-side web technologies. By supporting the command line interface and debuggers, it makes the app development process simpler. It helps web developers to develop and test the applications in a single environment.

This prominent web application development engine enjoys the flexibility of Eclipse and consists of information about a wide array of support for each element in the primary browsers. Aptana Studio is a high-performing IDE because of its massive collection of key features to boost your productivity.

This IDE also supports HTML CSS, JavaScript, and DOM along with JS debugging, outlining, code completion, error and warning notifications, and integrated documentation. The added plugins allow Aptana Studio to facilitate PHP, Ruby on Rails, Perl, Adobe AIR, and Python-based development.

4. Scriptcase

Scriptcase is one of the most efficient IDEs for PHP CodeIgniter development services. Using this tool, you can move from prototype to production phase in real-time. As it is too expensive, it may not be an ideal solution for small businesses or startups.

This IDE helps developers to create menus, charts, forms, reports automatically in just a few clicks. Scriptcase can also be used to create CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) web applications. It allows for the addition of customized code to govern validation and rules.

With the help of the IDE, you can create queries in PHP, simple to complex forms with elements that influence data from databases such as MySQL, SQLite, Oracle, Interbase, PostgreSQL, etc.

Scriptcase is accessible in various languages including French, English, Italian, and Spanish.  It is ideal for medium to large-scale projects that developed in CodeIgniter and Laravel.

5. PHPStorm

Developed by JetBrains, PHPStorm is one of the best IDEs for PHP. It is suitable for coding conditions that work with PHP web development frameworks such as CodeIgniter, Yii, WordPress, Symfony, Magento, Drupal, Zend, etc. It offers an editor for HTML, JavaScript, and PHP along with error prevention code analysis and automatic refactoring for JavaScript and PHP.

Thanks to explicit language refactoring, you can make various changes securely and fix them with a few snaps. The UI is extremely easy to use and enables the use of front-end web technologies like JavaScript, Emmet, HTML5, CSS, Sass, TypeScript, Stylus, etc.

6. Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is one of the finest IDEs for PHP CodeIgniter development services. It has advanced features such as support for debugging, intelligent code completion, snippets, code refactoring, syntax highlighting, and embedded Git.

Visual Studio comes with a user-friendly interface and is simpler to use computerization systems. It renders rich workflow and easy-to-function highlights. This tool can be synchronized with a JavaScript UI library. This cost depends on which version you want to integrate. Other than JavaScript, Visual Studio also supports other programming languages such as PHP CodeIgniter, Python, C++, C#, etc.

The users can easily modify keyboard shortcuts, preferences, themes and install extensions that can extend functionality.

7. Zend Studio

Zend Studio is known for its high speed as writing and debugging codes in this IDE does not takes a lot of time and effort from developers. This all-encompassing PHP CodeIgniter IDE offers an extensive collection of features and is capable of installing applications on various servers having servers in the cloud. This IDE not only supports PHP 7 but can also debug PHP script by integrating X-ray, Xdebug, and Zend Debugger.

The Zend Studio can be extended using the Eclipse plugin. It also provides support for docker, indexing, and searching code for different platforms like Microsoft Windows, MacOS, and Linux.

8. Codelobster

Codelobster is ideal for all PHP development frameworks, however, it also supports HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The plugin is accessible for PHP CodeIgniter, CakePHP, WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Smarty, Yii, and JQuery. With the help of Codelobster, developers can streamline and simplify the entire development process.

Developers don’t need to memorize the names of functions, tags, arguments, and attributes as the IDE has employed all these factors with automated features for HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript.

It also comes with a built-in debugger that allows developers to authenticate your codes locally. Additionally, the tool detects the arrangement of the existing server mechanically and configures the related files to allow them to use a free debugger. Codelobster comes with unique features such as function parameters display, code validator, SQL manager, and syntax highlighting.

Final Note

So, these are the best IDEs that can be used for PHP CodeIgniter web development services. Using any of the above-mentioned web development IDEs, developers can streamline the process of writing and debugging source code to save the time spent on code production and use it efficiently to produce the finest quality code. If you’re planning to build a web application using CodeIgniter and looking to hire CodeIgniter developers, then you can hire them from us.

As a leading CodeIgniter development company, we offer a complete range of CodeIgniter development services to build robust, scalable, and secure web applications for our global clients from various industries. Share your project requirements with us today and we will address them all with the best-fit solution.

FAQs

Q.1. What is PHP CodeIgniter used for?

Ans. CodeIgniter is a PHP web development framework used to build rapid web applications. It is based on the MVC development pattern and provides a massive library for connecting to databases and practicing various operations such as uploading files, sending emails, managing sessions, etc. Its pre-built features are intended to function individually without depending much on other components.

Q.2. Which is the best IDE for PHP CodeIgniter?

Ans. Eclipse is the best IDE for PHP-based project development and works perfectly with the CodeIgniter framework. NetBeans is also an ideal IDE that serves as a better code editor or CodeIgniter.

Q.3. How long does it take to develop a CodeIgniter-based web application?

Ans. There’s no fixed timeline to build a web application. The development time largely depends on the number of features of the application and its design complexity. You may consult with a CodeIgniter expert to see how long it will take to develop a CodeIgniter web application. Once the development timeline is finalized, you can hire CodeIgniter developers to get started.

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