NetBeans IDE for PHP Editor: Brief Overview

Contents

• Getting Ready
• The NetBeans IDE for PHP Editor Layout
• Overview of the Editor Features
• Syntax Highlighting
• Go To Declaration
• Navigator
• Code Folding
• Smart Indent
• Formatting
• Bracket Completion
• Code Completion
  • Snippets
  • Context-Sensitive Proposals
  • Abbreviations
• Parameter Hints
• Error Messages

Getting Ready

To successfully develop and deploy PHP applications in the NetBeans IDE for PHP, you need to have all the required software installed and configured. For details on configuring the environment for PHP development, see Required Software and related documents.

The NetBeans IDE for PHP Editor Layout

The editor contains the following windows:

• The Projects window shows a list of currently existing projects
• The Files window shows the files for each project
• The Services window shows lists of currently available external services such as databases.

You can also open a Navigator window in the left-hand panel by pressing Ctrl + 7.

Overview of the Editor Features

The editor is continuously being improved in order to provide the user with a wider range of editing possibilities.

The following editor features are currently available:

• Syntax Highlighting
• Go To Declaration
• Navigator
• Code Folding
• Smart Indent
• Formatting
• Bracket Completion
• Code Completion
• Parameter Hints
• Error Messages

Syntax Highlighting

The editor provides syntax highlighting for PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code blocks.

The following syntax elements are highlighted in the current version:

• PHP keywords
• PHP variables
• PHP constants
• HTML tags
• HTML input form attributes
• The current line is displayed with a light-blue background.
• By double-clicking a PHP variable, a function, or a class, all the occurrences of the variable are highlighted in olive green.
• Lines where errors have been detected are underlined in red.

To change the settings for highlighting, choose Tools > Options and switch to the Fonts&Colors tab. Specify the settings of your choice.

Go To Declaration

The Go To Declaration function navigates the user from an occurrence of a variable to the line where the variable is declared or initialized. To use this functionality, position the cursor on the relevant variable occurrence and choose Navigate > Go to Declaration from the context menu. or press CTRL + B.

Navigator

The Navigator helps the user to familiarize themselves with the code by displaying code structures as elements of a list that shows the PHP structures of the currently active file. If the file contains any other text sources (for example, HTML) the list displays their structures too. By double-clicking a class, a function, or a variable in the list, the cursor points at the declaration of the clicked element.

The Navigator list does not normally contain any embedded lists, but for complex statements it may contain embedded structures. For example, a PHP class declaration statement can be presented as a tree of declared class members.

The list is dynamically updated while the user types the code.

The Navigator window is shown in the bottom of the left-hand panel.

1. To open the Navigator window, press CTRL + 7.
2. From the Navigator drop-down list, choose Navigator. The tree that displays the hierarchy of the HTML and PHP structures appears.
3. To move to the desired element, double click the relevant node in the list.

Code Folding

The editor enables the user to selectively hide and display modules, classes or functions of the currently edited file with PHP source code. To fold or display a piece of code, click the - or + icon to the left of the code.

Smart Indent

The editor automatically formats the code while the user is typing.

Formatting

To format a piece of code to make it more understandable, perform the following steps:

1. Select the relevant code passage.
2. From the right-mouse context menu, choose Format or press Alt + Shift + F

Bracket Completion

The editor automatically adds and removes matching brackets and quotes while the user is typing the code.

• Paired single ' ' and double quotes "" "", braces (), and brackets [] are added when the user has typed the first symbol.
• At the end of a line, a semicolon is added in addition to the closing single or double quote.
• The closing curly brace is added after the user presses Enter, which also activates the Smart Indent function.
• Deleting the opening single or double quote, brace, or bracket causes automatic removal of the corresponding closing symbol but does not affect the line end semicolon.
• When the cursor points at a closing brace ), a closing curly brace }, or a closing bracket ], the paired opening symbol is highlighted in yellow.

Code Completion

Code Completion is a common name for a set of features that facilitate and speed up the process of coding. The Code Completion functionality is still under development and the full range of possibilities will be available in future versions of NetBeans.

The following types of code completion are distinguished:

• Snippets
• Context-sensitive proposals
• Abbreviations

Snippets

Snippets enable the user to generate code for various elements automatically.

1. Choose Tools > Palette > HTML/JSP Code Clips. A palette containing various user interface elements appears in the right-hand panel.
2. Drag the required icon on the palette to the relevant position in the code. A dialog box for specifying the parameters of the corresponding elements appears. Fill in the data.
3. The code that displays the chosen element is generated and inserted in the chosen location.

Context-Sensitive Proposals

The editor provides context-sensitive proposals for completing any number of starting symbols of:

• A PHP keyword (for example, if, else, elseif, while, switch, function, and so on)
• A PHP built-in function ( for example, substr, count, and so on)
• A pre-defined or user-defined variable .

The editor not only suggests expansions but also provides parameter hints. To apply Code Completion:

1. Type the starting symbols of the required character string.
2. Press CTRL + Space. A dropdown list shows the context-sensitive proposals. Each proposal is supplied with a description and parameter hints. The contents of the list change as you continue typing.
3. To obtain a list of the PHP key words that are available in the current context, press CTRL + Space without any previous typing.
4. To obtain a hint on a variable, just type the dollar symbol "$". A list of all the currently available local and global variables appears.

Abbreviations

In the current context, the term ""abbreviations" refers to a set of predefined character strings that correspond to the key words used in a programming language. Each abbreviation is associated with an expanded text which contains the full key word and a code template for the key word with parameter hints. To apply this functionality, type an abbreviation and press Tab.

The abbreviation is replaced with the corresponding key word and the code template for the key word is provided.

To view the list of defined abbreviation with code templates:

1. Choose Tools > Options > Editor > Code Templates.
2. From the Language drop down list, select PHP. The list of PHP abbreviations and code template defined for them is displayed.
3. To add or remove a definition from the list, use the New or Remove buttons respectively.
4. To edit a definition, select the relevant row and edit the text in the edit field below the list.
   

Parameter Hints

The editor prompts the user regarding the formal parameters of a function or a method in the context where the function or method is called.

1. Type the starting characters of the function you want to call.
2. Press CTRL + Space. A dropdown list shows the context-sensitive proposals with the formal parameters for each proposal.
   
3. Choose the relevant proposal and press Enter. The name of the chosen function is inserted in the code and a template for entering the parameters is shown in brackets.
   

Error Messages

The editor analyzes the syntax of the code while you type, and marks syntax errors by underlining the erroneous lines and setting a red bullet next to them. To get an explanation of the error, mouse over the erroneous line or click the red bullet. A tooltip appears with a short explanation of the error.

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