Dreamweaver Provides Sophisticates For Php Development
It is expected that beginners with the knowledge of the existence of Dreamweaver
CS5 cam learn the aspects of PHP in a more beginner friendly environment and then start using Dreamweaver. Understanding the features of PHP added in the Dreamweaver platform helps a PHP developer to be aware of the features provided by it.
Numbering Lines
Dreamweaver by default numbers each and every line that has been written by the PHP programmer developing a project. This is a very important function as PHP error messages are always addressed to the line in which the error has occurred and such a function makes it very simple for the PHP programmers to identify the location in which an error or bug has been made. This numbering is shown in an individual column to the left side of the code in the corresponding line.
When the developers press Enter/Return during the process of coding, the active line goes to the next and it is numbered accordingly. Dreamweaver also makes it possible for developers to enable and disable this option of numbering the lines through View > Toolbars > Coding but the coding toolbar cannot be turned off in the code inspector.
Syntax Coloring
The different elements of the PHP code can be identified easily using the different color schemes used for individual elements provided by Dreamweaver. Each color assigned by the platform explains the functionality of keywords in the syntax.
Tags and strings in the code are assigned the color of red, green color indicates reserved keywords, functions are blue in color and variables are indicated in a lighter blue than functions. The main advantage of coloring the syntaxes is that when a color is displayed in an inconsistent way then the PHP developer can understand that there is an error in that particular line. The most common error made in a code by a programmer is a missing or mismatched quotation mark.
These colors assigned by default can be changed from the edit menu in the Windows platform whereas in Mac it can be changed in the Dreamweaver menu option. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl+U/Cmd+U can also be used for opening the preferences option.
Dreamweaver syntax coloring still does not support two types of project development which are heredoc and nowdoc syntax. The normal coding can be manipulated under the Styles option where the coloring option can be changed to suit the developers comfort.
When some programmers find the coloring option unnecessary then this option can be turned off by accessing View > Code View Options > Syntax Coloring. Though this option is available, the use of syntax coloring has been highly appreciated by all PHP developers and PHP programmers.
These are some of the basic effective options that are provided by the Dreamweaver application for the PHP development technology.