Netbeans is great tool if you want free and powerful ide. But it sometimes seems to be too havy for some small tasks, so notepad++ or pspad can be handy too.

Notepad + +. This is the best, especially if you are a beginner. Because it has no IntelliSense, so you have a type which a good grasp of the grammar means that you will be able to.

I know the OP's questions was what is a good FREE editor and I have seen a few here that are good choices.

I do want to point out while this editor is not FREE it is fairly inexpensive and I have been using it for many years now and love it.

Now called phpDesigner 8 - mpsoftware.dk
Retails for commercial use for about $90/us and like $40/us.

Has a ton of features to make your life easier when writing code.

Otherwise Notepad++ is a good place to start as others have mentioned here.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Ray

I'm using Komodo Edit - golden mean between Notepad and monstrous NetBeans/Eclipse/PhpStorm.

VIM best )

I know of Komodo Edit, i haven't use it though

Originally Posted by facecap

I know of Komodo Edit, i haven't use it though

Highly recomended ;-)

I also like Komodo Edit. It's a good one.

jEdit with plugins (BufferTabs, EditorScheme, FastOpen, FinishHim, ProjectViewer, SuperAbbrevs) plus django color theme is very close to TextMate in functionality and even better in some points (fast project switching).
Vim is great but not for all.

For fast editing and smaller projects I am using SublimeText sublimetext.com/ and for larger projects I am using Aptana Studio aptana.com/products/studio3

I think Dreamwaver is the best editor for PHP.

Originally Posted by throughput24

I think Dreamwaver is the best editor for PHP.

The question is for Free PHP Editors? Dreamweaver is only 'free' when you use file stealing websites.

Windows: Geany
*nix: Kate (come with it, if not look in the repos), if not there's also a Geany version for nix which I use anyway.

I've been using Geany for a year or so after using Kate for the past 3 (maybe 4? losing track) years. Definitely an awesome editor, free too

I love Codelobster PHP Edition very much

CodeLobster

Talking about Speed, Functionality and Complexity. For me Notepad++ is the king of web development.

I generally use DreamWeaver, from Macromedia, for my website's needs

Originally Posted by Wisestepp

I generally use DreamWeaver, from Macromedia, for my website's needs

A: Dreamweaver is NOT free.


B: Adobe bought Macromedia in 2005

A: Dreamweaver is NOT free.

I think some million of people didn't know that windows os is not free, MS office is not free, heck know even if adobe suite is a costly software.

Frankly its not their fault, its because some friendly computer store assemble their pc for a minimal charge and installed those (pirated) software for free. I don't know about other parts of the world but in the place I live, I could get anything (software) for free...

Anyway I always use gedit (the text editor) that is present in ubuntu as my basic php editor.

I also like Komodo Edit. It's a good one.