well i'm curently using microsoft visual studio express for HTML, CSS, javascript etc... it's great but i want to be able to code PHP from my desktop, but the only server side scripting it suports is asp. eventhough there is a software that helps visual studio with php (VS.php) but it is way too much i cant afford that. so anywayz i've been looking for a free Or opensource php editing software. the main features i'm intersted in is auto complete and maybe the ability to switch bettween code view and design like visual studios. so can anyone help me. thank you

You can set up your own server on your computer using XAMPP. http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html This you can use PHP and MySQL and Perl all on your computer. And yes it's free. After a bit of installing you'll be all set to do it on your own computer without an internet connection or anything. It is installable on Windows, Linux, Mac, or Solaris.

Or if you saved up for hosting here at Trap17 you could practice on your own small website but that's up to you.

I'm pretty sure the question was about a PHP editor not a PHP server.

How bout dreamweaver? It's not supposed to be free but there are ways to get around that...

OK to develop in php i use the Eclipse IDE with the PHP plugin. It works amazing especially if you have a server already installed. All you do is start a new project and make it's location that of your current files and begin programming. You then can set the server home for where it should display the results in the php browser. Therefore, you dont have to switch between your developing program and IE or mozilla to see your results. It makes life really easy and is very good. Best of all, it is free so it doesnt cost you a dime to develop good applications and maintain them

wow that's a big download my hard drive is not that

i'm looking for something that's specialises on php or maybe a plug-in for visual studeo

I would follow fffanatics' advice and download Eclipse, and then get the PHP plugin for it. Eclipse is a great piece of software, no matter what language you are developing in, and the various features to help you write your code are unparalleled, even in software you pay for.

With PHP there is no way to switch into a design view. PHP code is parsed by the server when you request to view the page, therefore the only way to view the result of your PHP code is to run it through a web server that supports PHP. As Plenoptic said, you can upload your PHP files to your web hosting account here at the Trap, and then visit them via the Internet. If you are making a lot of edits to the code or debugging, you are probably better off downloading Apache, PHP and MySQL (if you want to do database work) and testing your scripts on your own computer.

If all those downloads are a little bit too much for you, you could always write the code in Notepad, Kate, Notepad++ or any text editor. Still, to see the code in action you need to either upload it or run it with Apache and PHP.