The Danosphere.

I’ve always written PHP code in programs like TextMate or Dreamweaver [code view] but recently after having a very good experience with an advanced Flash editor, I decided to look around for a PHP editor which offered similar benefits.

Zend Studio is great because it's offered in many formats- as a standalone or as a plug-in for the ever-popular Eclipse platform (which I'm slowly warming up to). There are probably a load of features that make Zend an awesome editor, but I'll just outline the points that make it appealing to me:

• OOP PHP support - The editor treats object like objects!
• Class Outline - Easily navigate large classes and find variables and functions in a snap.
• Code Hinting - I'm all for old school coding but when it comes to reality production speed is key, and with Zend it has real-time code hinting so it not only helps out with native php classes, but also hints on any custom classes you've built within your project.
• Real-time Compiling - discover syntax errors as you code instead of having to upload and run the code on a server every time
• Eclipse plugin - now i can edit Actionscript and PHP in the same editor!

A while ago I made a post about FileReference in AS2. For a recent project I needed to create a simple uploader class which uploads files to a given server from flash, so once again I was face to face with FileReference, but this time in AS3. The syntax is almost identical, with a few small nuances. Ill let you download the source** to get the full details.

This example has some a few small frills, my favorite of which is the constructor takes a directory name where you would like the file to be uploaded (relative to the upload script), this allows me to reuse this class for many different uploads, to different directories.

** Note: For this to work you need to put “upload.php” on your server and point the variable ‘phpUploadScript’ in FileUploader.as on line 20 to upload.php.

In one of my recent projects using Flex2, I found the need to hook up to MySQL, easy right? Not if your on Windows Vista! I have installed apache.mysql/php on many boxes but this was my first experience installing it under windows vista. The apache install is more or less the same, download the installed, run, check the test page, and your ready to go. Repeat the same process with the php installer and you’ll get some unexpected results! Its hard to describe how it behaves, first install it appeared to work fine, but was missing all the mysql functions, second install it didnt work at all, third install it still didnt work. I was about to start tearing my hair out!

Then i came across this helpful post by senese: Installing PHP under Apache and Vista. I was able to get PHP working correctly, finally! Some steps may seem unnecessary (such as deleting the install directory through the command prompt) but trust me every single step is required! Follow these directions and you’ll be using PHP under vista in no time!