In Golgota

Here are my first impressions about the installation process of Zend Studio on Mac OS X. Please note that I have never used this software before, I use BBEdit instead.

1. The zip archive could not be decompressed with Stuffit Expander, I had to use Apple's BOMArchiveHelper application which I usually never use. But it worked.

2. Once installed, you get a new Zend folder in your Applications folder. I would have appreciated to be told that I could install the software anywhere on the disk beforehand. I would have put it on my Dev partition.

3. The Zend folder contains a bin folder which in turns contains a lot of things that should certainly be hidden to the end-user: .jar, .sh, .ico, .zip... Zend should learn about Mac OS X bundle feature. It allows you to put all this stuff into your application without making it visible.

4. There are 2 applications (I can tell by looking at the icons). Apparently, there are just launchers. Unfortunately, they are named ZDE and ZSS. I have no idea what those acronyms mean. I guess the Z is for Zend but what about the rest. Am I supposed to know already ?

5. Anyway, I asked the installer to put a Dock icon of the application in my dock but it doesn't show.

6. It's only after the software is installed that you are told your Java version is not up-to-date. I am running Tiger in its very last version with the last Java update downloaded from Apple automatic updates. Zend requires a more recent version of Java than the one provided by Apple. But I don't understand why they can't check this beforehand, before the installation starts...

I didn't go any further, I don't have the time right now to install a new Java version. It's really a pity Zend Studio doesn't feel more like a Mac application from the start. I will try to test it further before my evaluation period ends. I hope I will be more successful.

Clay Loveless @ 09.11.2005 02:29 CEST
I had all the same experiences, more or less. FWIW, Stuffit Expander 9 will decompress the .zip, but Stuffit 10 chokes on it.

As an OS X user, I'm so very, very tired of being treated as a second-class citizen by Zend.

The experience doesn't get a lot better after you start using Zend Studio -- it's the least Mac-like application installed on my system. Yes, it's a useful tool, but Zend's disrespect of Mac users really turns me off from using Zend Studio full-time ... I keep going back to BBEdit.

Richard Davey @ 09.11.2005 03:31 CEST
Maybe the trial version has a different installer to the full version? But I just installed v5 on my Mac (Tiger) and it was painless. Downloaded. Unzipped with StuffIt. Ran the installer, it asked me where I wanted it to be installed. It asked me if I wanted to create an alias in my Dock, so I said yes. This did however fail ;) But I opened up Applications, Zend, Zend 5, bin and dragged the ZDE icon to my Dock and voila (ZDE = the IDE, ZSS = the Server Configuration).

I installed Java 2 RC1 from the Apple site and it worked fine, more importantly it doesn't overwrite my existing Java 1.4 install, so it won't mess with apps that already use it. URL here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/java2se50release1.html [http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/java2se50release1.html]

The IDE itself looks like it always has. You can't say the design isn't "supporting Mac users", because the Windows one doesn't support Windows users either. It just looks the way it does on all platforms, which is helpful as I move between my PC and Mac daily. But yes, it takes learning.

Marc Swindle @ 09.11.2005 04:18 CEST
I had an even worse experience. Installer crashed as soon as I entered authorization for admin access.

I extracted the installer for the app out of the main installer package. Installed it. Found out that I need the newest Java. Downloaded the Java install.

FInally it launched, but none of the PHP stuff was linked or working or whatever. Can't find any config info on how to get debuging to work.

I am VERY unimpresed. I don't care that the Mac gets treated like a second class citizen. I'm used to that. But to not even have documentation that explains what the final setup needs to look like? I'm a pretty savvy programmer but this is hopeless.

Pathetic.

Davey Shafik @ 09.11.2005 04:35 CEST
When I last installed ZDE on a mac (4.0), I found it to be very easy. There was a setting to make it use the OS Look and Feel, but I turned that off because it centers the file tabs bar at the bottom and I hated that.

Look around in the config, perhaps its still there and defaults to being off? :)

Personally, I like the Java Look and Feel that means no matter what platform I'm using, everythings where I think it should be :)

- Davey

Gavin Foster @ 09.11.2005 10:28 CEST
Very easy for me too. Show me a better PHP IDE on the Mac.

The acronyms are 'Zend Development Environment' and 'Zend Studio Server'.

Bertrand Mansion @ 09.11.2005 13:43 CEST
Gavin Foster, are you by any chance a "Zend Studio on Mac" evangelist ?

I have been searching your name on Google and found the following links:

Link1 [http://greg.chiaraquartet.net/archives/94-has-anyone-actually-gotten-Zend-Studio-Server-beta-2-to-work-with-winXpapache-1.3.33.html#c336]
Link2 [http://www.phparch.com/discuss/index.php/m/5101/a8a8deb3540bab35ac233b466cd4a5d7/#msg_5101]
Link3 [http://alexander.kirk.at/2005/10/19/eclipse-everywhere-buah/#comment-41]

I still haven't looked at the product in itself so I can't tell if it is any good, past the installation issues.

Ed Finkler @ 09.11.2005 16:49 CEST
golgote, I'd be interested to see you compared Zend Studio to the recent OS X release of Komodo.

http://www.activestate.com/Products/Komodo/?bc=1 [http://www.activestate.com/Products/Komodo/?bc=1]

Gavin Foster @ 09.11.2005 17:58 CEST
I've been using Zend Studio for years and on the Mac for at least 1.5 years.

Zend have built up a lot of bonhomie with me in that time, for the reason that other companies treat Mac users as third-class citizens, but Zend don't. That carries a lot of weight with me.

But even ignoring that there wasn't any other Mac PHP IDE worth considering when I started using ZDE.

Even with the old problems of it being a little slow (gone now they use the latest Java) it was still light years ahead of the rest.

I am very grateful to Zend for producing a quality product and always answering my support questions promptly and comprehensively, and for a price that I can afford. If that makes me an evangelist then so be it!

I look at alternatives every few months (I love playing with new toys... ahem.. technologies). Zend's 'insider information' gives them the edge in my view that is no bad thing, just means a better product for us! The database and SVN integration in the latest product is an absolute boon for me.

The production of an Eclipse plugin from Zend and it's effects on the ZDE will be interesting to watch. I have tried Eclipse on Mac OS X but wasn't impressed.

I like Maguma's idea (Maguma Workbench) but again there is no Mac support last time I checked, and the 'Mac users dont matter' attitude doesnt encourage me to open my wallet.

Gavin Foster @ 09.11.2005 18:01 CEST
Bertrand - how on earth did you identify me as the source of the phparch post?

You can see what I mean, even in July 2004 I was very happy with ZDE, and they haven't done anything but continually improve the product since that time.

Gavin Foster @ 09.11.2005 18:05 CEST
Re. no 5 - this has never worked, I keep forgetting to post a support issue, I just drag ZDE into the doc myself.

Re. no 6 - wasn't there was a Mac OS X Tiger update a few weeks back containing the latest java? If not find it here:

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/java2se50release1.html [http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/java2se50release1.html]

Gavin Foster @ 09.11.2005 18:10 CEST
One final note - you wont really appreciate the benefits of Zend Studio until you use the debugging and profiling features. Need to get your firewall configured correctly but once you do, it's seamless - especially with the Zend Firefox toolbar. Just visit the page you want to debug in Firefox and click the Debug button and up pops Zend with the code open, ready to step through and debug live as the page is rendered.

heavyboots @ 09.11.2005 18:58 CEST
PHP Editors for Mac:

jEdit - Really good syntax coloring, code folding, and with the right plugins add autocompletion, indent alignment, syntax checking, CVS/Subversion/FTP/SFTP editing. http://jedit.org [http://jedit.org] .

XCode with PHP Syntax Coloring plugin - can't remember who does the plugin, but it's another option.

Eclipse - I've just barely used this starting this week, but it looks like some nice syntax checking, good syntax coloring, possible code folding, major project management features.

Various others, including BBEdit, SubEthaEdit, etc etc etc. I've tried 'em all, including earlier versions of Zend Studio. Zend was nice but we had two or three coders and practically zero budget. If the same is the case with you, I can say that jEdit really gets the job done. All the programmers were a little reluctant but after a week they were all raving about how amazing it was.

The Firefox toolbar sounds really cool though! I may have to revisit Zend again. :-)

marc Swindle @ 09.11.2005 21:32 CEST
Follow up on my Mac problems.

This morning, tech support sent me a link to download the directory directly. I still couldn't get debug to work. I fished around in the config file and found that the path structure php.ini was wrong. And in the php.ini files, the path structure to the ZS folder had to be modified.

Now, it seems to be working. A few interface bugs but I will probably use this for my coding.

Anyone know of a Mac centric forum for users of Zend?

BTW, the latest update of Tiger does not contain the latest Java, but they can co-exist on your Mac.

Gavin Foster @ 09.11.2005 22:31 CEST
Yes I was wrong about the Java 1.5, I installed it when I downloaded the Zend Studio 5 Beta.

Vincent Danen @ 10.11.2005 18:16 CEST
Ed: I wrote up a comparison of the new Zend against Komodo on my blog last night, having the pro versions of both. The short: they both have some really cool features, both have some irritations, but both work quite well. You can read it here:

http://linsec.ca/blog/index.php?/archives/31-Zend-Studio-vs.-Komodo.html#extended [http://linsec.ca/blog/index.php?/archives/31-Zend-Studio-vs.-Komodo.html#extended]

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