In the modern IT infrastructure, multiple programming languages must co-exist
with one another. Such is certainly the case with PHP and Java, with PHP
being popular as a front-end Web technology and Java remaining popular in
back-end infrastructure.
Zend Framework is soon to hit version 0.6.
With new features in the latest version of PHP and the new Zend Studio
version 5.5 IDE
to integrate Java code into PHP development. The new Zend Studio release
comes at a pivotal time for Zend and PHP, as PHP continues to make
inroads in Linux and Windows circles.
Among the many new features in Zend Studio version 5.5, which is set for
official release today, is an embedded Java code completion feature. The
feature enables users to specify and include Java class folders that are
necessary to complete Java code.
Zend is also pushing forward on efforts to build out a framework that will
further challenge enterprise Java. The Zend Framework, which was first announced over a year ago, is an effort to build a PHP Web application development
and deployment environment.
Studio 5.5 will now provide integrated support for Zend Framework enabling
developers to take advantage of the emerging enterprise effort.
Studio 5.5 is also the first IDE from Zend to support the newly released PHP
5.2. Among the improvements in PHP 5.2 are some enhancements that allow PHP
to run better on Windows platforms. The enhancements were developed as part
of a multi-year technical effort recently announced between Zend and Microsoft.
Though PHP 5.2 includes Windows enhancements, Zend Studio itself does not benefit directly from the Microsoft partnership.
“It doesn’t show up for Zend Studio 5.5 on Windows,” Yossi Leon, project
manager of developer products, told internetnews.com. “It’s not related
to the work that is being done on the Windows side in terms of running PHP.”
Leon noted that Microsoft’s Visual Studio is a competitive product to Zend
Studio, since most Zend Studio developers actually run the IDE on Windows.
Mashup creators and developers will also benefit from the new release. The
IDE now includes remote WSDL
developers to pull a remote WSDL file instead of having to rely on just
local assets. Previous versions of Zend Studio enable users to create their own
WSDL files but with the new remote capability, Leon expects that mashup
creation and usage will be much easier.
Leon’s other PHP effort beyond Zend Studio is as the project leader for the
PHP IDE project at Eclipse. That effort was announced at the same time the
Zend Framework was originally announced back in October of 2005.
“PHP IDE is actually a PHP framework that other projects and products will
be built on,” Leon explained. “The term PHP IDE is not completely true;
although it is a development environment it is more like a framework.”
Leon doesn’t consider the Eclipse PHP IDE effort a competitive one for
Zend Studio, either. According to Leon, Zend Studio provides a full solution
as opposed to just being an editor. But future versions of Studio may well be based on the Eclipse PHP IDE.
“Currently we don’t know,” Leon noted. “We just know that we will provide a
commercial product for the development of PHP whether it will be on eclipse
or the Zend Studio we have today.”
