Debugging PHP in Zend Studio

To create a new local project:

1. From the Menu-bar, select File | New | Local PHP Project.
   The New PHP Project dialog displays.

2. Enter the name of your project, set Basic as your project content, and click Finish.
   The project is created and appears in the PHP Explorer.

Related Topics

To debug a file using the internal debugger:

1. In the PHP Explorer, right-click our newly created PHP project, and select New | PHP File.
   The New PHP File dialog is displayed.

2. Name the new PHP file 'debug', and paste the example code into it.

3. Set a breakpoint at line 37 by double-clicking the marker bar to the left of the editor window, and save the file.
   

4. Right-click the file in PHP Explorer view, and select Debug As | Debug Configurations.
   The Debug Configurations dialog will appear.

5. In the Configurations list on the left, right-click PHP CLI Application, and select New .

6. Enter a name for the new configuration.

7. Select the Zend Studio workspace default PHP as your runtime PHP for debugging (selected by default).

8. In the PHP File field, enter the newly created 'debug' file. Click Browse to locate the file.

9. Make sure that the Break at First Line checkbox is selected (selected by default).

9. Click Apply, and then Debug.

10. Click Yes if asked whether to open the PHP Debug Perspective.
    A number of views will open with information about your script.

11. The Debug View is where the debug stack trace is displayed and the debugging process can be monitored and controlled.

The debugging process will currently have stopped where your first <?php label appears.

13. In the toolbar, click the Resume icon to continue to the set breakpoint.

14. In the toolbar, click Step Into .
    The Debugger goes into the function defined in line 37 and advances to line 51.

15. The Variables view will now display various information about the relevant variables and parameters through which the function was reached.

16. In the editor window, place and hold the cursor over $worker_name, $worker_address, and $worker_phone. A tooltip appears displaying the variable values.

17. In the toolbar, click Step Return.
    The cursor returns to line 37.

18. The Debug Output view will display the HTML output created up until the breakpoint, while the Browser Output view will show the current output to a browser.

19. In the Debug view, click Resume  until the debugging process is terminated.
    Notice that as the debugging process progresses, the Debug Output and Browser Output displays are updated.

19. The console view will display any errors or warnings about your script. In this case, it will display a Notice about an undefined variable on line 53.

20. Click on the PHP Perspective icon to return to normal editing mode.

21. To run the debugging process again, click the arrow next to the debug icon on the toolbar and select your configuration
    Clicking the debug icon will debug the last executed launch configuration.

To debug a file remotely:

1. In the PHP Explorer, right-click your PHP project, and select New | PHP File.
   The New PHP File dialog is displayed.

2. Name the new PHP file 'debug2', and paste the example code into it.
3. Save the file.
4. In the PHP Explorer, right-click the file, and select Debug As | Debug Configurations.
   The Debug Configurations dialog will appear.
   

5. In the Configurations list on the left, right-click PHP Web Application, and select New .

6. Enter a name for the new configuration.

7. In your new configuration window, select PHP Web Server under the Debugger Location category.

8. Click PHP Servers to add your server.
   If you already have a server configured, skip to step 12.

9. In the PHP Servers dialog, click New.

10. Enter the server's name and its document root URL.

11. Click Finish and OK to add your server and return to the "debugging" dialog.

12. Select your server from the drop-down list.

13. Under PHP File, click Browse and select the "debug" file.

14. Mark both checkboxes under the Breakpoint category.

15. Click Apply and Debug.
    The Debug Perspective will open.

16. In the Debug view, click Resume until the debugging process is terminated.

17. The output in the views will provide the following information:

• Debug View – Here you can control (stop, pause, and resume) the debugging process. You can also decide whether to step into, step over or step return (step out off) certain functions.

• Variables – Will display the various variables in your script.

• Breakpoints – Will display the breakpoints you have entered

• Parameter Stack – Will display the parameters through which functions are reached.

• Editor Window – will display the code at the relevant sections, according to which line is selected in the Debug View window.

• Debug Output – Will show the textual output of the script. This will be updated as the debugging process continues.

• Browser output - Will show the output of the script to a browser. This will be updated as the debugging process continues.

• Console View – Will display any error and warning messages.

• Tasks – If you had added any tasks to your script, these would be displayed here.

18. Click on the PHP Perspective icon to return to normal editing mode.

19. To run the debugging process again, click the arrow next to the debug icon on the toolbar and select your configuration -or- select Debug and double-click your configuration from the Debug dialog.

To debug applications on a server:

1. In the PHP Explorer, right-click your project, and create a new PHP file called 'form1'.

2. Copy and paste the following code:

<html>
	<body>
		<form action="welcome.php" method="post">
			Name: <input type="text" name="name" />
			Age: <input type="text" name="age" />
			<input type="submit" />
		</form>
	</body>
</html>

2. Create a second PHP file, called 'welcome'.

3. Copy and paste the following code:

<html>
	<body>
		Welcome <?php echo $_POST["name"]; ?>.<br />
             You are <?php echo $_POST["age"]; ?> years old.
	</body>
</html>

3. Save both files and copy them to your server.

4. Right-click your project in PHP explorer, and select Debug As | Debug Configurations.
   The Debug Configurations dialog will appear.

5. In the Configurations list on the left, right-click PHP Web Application, and select New .

6. Enter a name for the new Debug configuration.

7. Select your server from the PHP Server drop-down list.
   If you have not configured a server, click Configure to be taken to the Edit Server dialog.

8. In the Field field, click Browse and select the 'form1' file. This will be the file from which the debugger will start debugging.
9. Make sure the URL is pointing to the correct file location. If not, unmark the Auto Generate checkbox and manually change the URL.
   

10. Select the Debugger tab.

11. Select the Zend Debugger from the Server Debugger drop-down list.

11. Click Apply and then Debug.

12. Click Yes when asked whether to open the PHP Debug Perspective.
    The Debug Perspective will open with several views relevant to the debugging process (See PHP Debug Perspective for more information on the different views).The code for the 'form1' file is displayed in the editor.

11. In the Debug view, click Resume to resume the debugging process.
    The Browser Output view will display a form asking you to enter your Name and Age.

11. Select the Browser view (tabbed with the Editor window). This will display the output of your script in a browser in 'real time'.
    Note that this is different from the Browser Output window.

12. In the Browser view, enter your Name and Age and click Submit Query.

20. Another editor tab will open, with the script from the welcome.php file.

21. In the Debug view, click Resume to resume the debugging process.

22. The browser output and browser views will display the final result of your application:
    "Welcome [Name].
    You are [Age] years old."

23. The debugging process will have terminated.

24. Click on the PHP Perspective icon to return to normal editing mode.

25. To run the debugging process again, click the arrow next to the debug icon on the toolbar and select your debugging configuration.