6 Must have Tools for web2.0 application development

For proper development of any application, a developer needs an editor and debugger. PHP and javascript are the technologies i am considering for serverside scripting and client side scripting respectively.
First lets look at the editors that are available for free.
1. vi
Who can ever forget vi. Thats one of the best editors i have ever seen in my life. Any one familiar with *nix would have used this editor. This can be your choice of development if you want a fast, simple ,small editor then vi is just the right editor for you. But it takes time for you to get used to it.
2. PHPDesigner 2005
This is a good editor to start off with, if you want an editor not taking much resources but still helpful, this is just right for you. I have seen the later versions of phpdesigner, which i found very buggy and taking too much resources. This version is best of the lot.
3. PHPEclipse (php)
If you want an IDE, then you can go for phpeclipse plugin for eclipse. I have used the plugin from zend, its very buggy and is not that good. PHPEclipse plugin has been there for a long time compared to the zend plugin, and has matured over the time. You can find a tutorial for installing phpeclipse here .
4. JSEclipse (javascript)
This is a plugin to eclipse ide.There is a community version available for this plugin. It uses almost all the features of eclipse.If you are planning to use it for commercial purpose i'd suggest you buy it.
5. Aptana (javascript)
There is a aptana plug-in for eclipse. This comes bundled with some of the most used AJAX libraries like yahoo,dojo... Even this plugin uses all the features of eclipse.
After choosing the editors, we need to choose some tools for debugging.
6. DBG Debugger(PHP)
This debugger has to be installed in your webserver. The debugger client is built in phpeclipse plugin. There is a tutorial for howto install dbg debugger here.
7. Firebug extension for firefox (javascript)
This extension is very useful in debugging javascript. You can also use venkman javascript debugger, but i found firebug to be more useful and faster when compared to venkman.
8. Live HTTP Header extension for firefox
This is very useful for debugging web2.0 based applications. This extension is useful for monitoring the http requests going out from the browser. There is a replay feature in this extension which is very useful.
9. IETab extension for firefox
This extension is a very useful extension, for viewing how the site behaves in ie. It basically creates a new tab where ie is embedded in it. This will reduce a lot of pain especially when you dont want to switch windows while using firefox.
10. Server Switcher extension for firefox
This extension is very useful for switching between the developer server and the live server. This will help reduce a lot of time and irratation while development.

By choosing a suitable editor and the above tools, the application development becomes a lot easier. There are other editors and tools which i havent mentioned. most of them i think were redundant or werent that good when i had used it.

happy ajaxing!!!!
Tags :
web2.0 | ajax tools | editor |sun | pvs