What WYSIWYG PHP editor?

Dreamweaver was Good for learning HTML. What's the best for PHP?

[The Cricketer]

When I began learning HTML I started off with Dreamweaver. It was very good for this learning curve because it created the code based on the look I wanted. I could then analyse this code and see which part of the code did what. This process was great for getting to grips with the language.

I would now like a similar editor with respect to learning PHP/mysql. I've heard that Dreamweaver produces bloated php code. Are there better editors out there which will produce more 'correct' code? Hopefully free, or not....

I've done some reading on php, so i'm now at a stage where I want to begin producing a fully flowing website!

Hope you can help.

[edit]I'll also learn how to spell WYSIWYG properly! I wish the title's were editable[/edit]

[mack]

When it comes to php i'm not totaly sure that there can ever be a 100% wysiwyg interface. Php is very different to html in that it is a programing language. As a programing language it very often does things that are not visible. Php can be used for a wide veriety of functions, but very often the actual visible elements are down to html and css. For example if you look at a php page and view the source you will see html output. But the actual document that generated this html will look very different.

I think in order to get along with php it is best to actualy learn to write the php code yourself. I know this sounds very daunting but it is very acheivable. When I started using php (about a year ago) I was lost, but pretty soon you start to get a grasp of it, within about 6 months you will know enough to be able to get by.

Look up as may tutorials as you can, follow them. Perhaps even buy a php book and work your way through it. The hardest part is getting started. Once you know the basics the rest will fall into place.

Mack.

[timster]

WYSISWIG = What You See Is Sometimes What I Get... pretty realistic expectations, actually.

Dreamweaver's a pretty decent tool for writing PHP, whether or not you want to use their canned solutions or write your own stuff. If a program like that could really write code, most folks on this board would be flipping burgers.

[pt49]

I also have a similar question, sort of.

I have a new domain, and the account includes a multitude of scripts and several WYSIWYG site builders.

The WYSIWYG editors are Bleepsoft and SiteStudio plus another in beta testing (SiteWorkShop) The templates in the first two are fairly basic looking, and I have not seen the SiteWorkShop ones yet (down for maintainance)

But what interested me when I researched them a little was the php scripts -
PHP-Nuke
Post-Nuke
phpWebSite
Mambo Open Source
Drupal
Geek Log
Siteframe
Xoops
Moodle
PageSynd (Content syndicator)
PhpWiki
TikiWiki
phpWCMS

Can any of these be used to build websites instead of the WYSIWYG editors?
I mean, phpWebSite sounds like it is a website builder, and maybe the others are also... I have seen the phpWCMS logo on some sites in the past.

How much experience is needed to use these php scripts compared to using a WYSIWYG editor.

I know a little html, but am certainly not proficient at it.

[mack]

The scripts and apps you mentiones are commonly refered to as "content management systems" (cms) that they do is to enable you to build a site without any real knowledge of web developent. These systems are uploaded to your server and you use an administraration area to control site elements and to add/delete content.

Content management systems can save you a lot of time when it comes to building large scale websites.

Mack.

[pt49]

Ok,thanks Mack, and which of these would be a good choice to develop a site with? Maybe that's being a bit tough on you, sorry.

Do I still need a template, for instance (being not overly html'd) if building a site with say phpWebsite?

I understand that I still need to input html and all the content of course.

Sorry if my questions don't make sence,(using a template and php at the same time may be like an oxymoron, I'm not sure) but this is new to me.

[The Cricketer]

Interesting that you've brought this topic up here because I've been debating whether to use a CMS or not. I'm under the impression that PHP-Nuke is one of the best.

The only thing that I'm not too keen on is that the CMSs which I've seen all seem to force you into a design based on their templates. I would like to use one of these CMSs but don't want to act like another clone of a PHP Nuke site.

I seem to remember it saying somewhere that it was possible to extend the design of the template, but by how much i'm not sure and how easy i'm not so sure.

As far as I'm aware these CMSs are template based.

I've also heard about 'Smarty' which isn't exactly the same as the above, but I'm still wondering if it can do a job for me. I can't quite get my head around it.

[pt49]

Cricketer, I've just been looking at the homepages of some of them.

phpNuke and Post-Nuke like many of them are used by lot of people to build forums.

phpWebSite and phpWCMS look interesting to me, especially phpWCMS, as they appear more developed to build more conventional websites. They appear to be sort of template based, in that they are modular.

Where a html Template is for a whole page (I think) it seems that with these programs you can build a page as large or small or simple or as complicated as you want, all based on adding, deleting and moving modules.

I don't know if that's how Nuke types work or not.

The guy that is developing phpWCMS has a very good website where he goes right in to describing it all.

Haven't ckecked out Siteframe yet, XOOPS seems good too. They all have forums, so you can look at examples of their work in progress.

I'm getting excited. But I gotta sleep. I think. Gee they've got some funny names.

[deejay]

Gosh, I've just spent nearly an hour trawling through that phpWCMS site, and I'm very impressed.

Not havingt used a CMS before, but having looked at quite a few, it's the first time I've looked at a CMS's site and thought 'ok, I can see exactly how that works' and felt confident I could go with it.

If anyone was starting to look into CMSs I'd certainly recommend looking at that site to get a feel for how they work, whether they decided to use that one or not

[dreamcatcher]

On the subject of PHP NUKE, my own web hosting company have stopped offering PHP NUKE in its script bundle because of constant security issues. Not quite sure what these are, but just thought I would mention it.

[pt49]

Are there security issues with php in general, or is it just with particular scripts I wonder?

[Leosghost]

php in general....if you don't need it ..dont use it ..it's the easiest way in for any hacker

[henry0]

Leosghost
Has the Brittany Sea salt an effect on your statement :)

php in general....if you don't need it ..dont use it ..it's the easiest way in for any hacker

I strongly feel that the programmer is responsible for falling in its self-made traps (here holes)

Aren't we responsible for writing codes that offer security

We both know that some "one size fits all” such as Mambo do carry holes in the script

But many among us do write PHP pretty good scripts security wise
I personally may not shield perfectly my own codes or even not perceive the risk
However PHP highly experienced members here do fine in regards of security.

Regards

Henry

[dreamcatcher]

As far as my hosting company was concerned only PHP NUKE was a problem. They still support Xoops and also Post-Nuke and one or two others. Apparently its been a problem for a while now, so they decided to remove it. Its not the first time I`ve heard bad things about PHP NUKE.