How to debug PHP projects in Eclipse?

Debugging is one of most important features that an IDE should have. In Eclipse, debugging is built-in for Java but not PHP. Keep reading this post for enabling debugging for PHP.

First of all, you need Eclipse PDT (PHP Development Tools) for PHP development. You can either use Eclipse PDT from Eclipse Foundation or its improved version, Zend Eclipse PDT which is from Zend Technologies.

After having Eclipse PDT ready, you have two options for enabling debugging options:

1. Studio Web Debugger from Zend Technologies.
   • Download: http://www.zend.com/en/company/community/pdt/downloads
   • Installation: http://static.zend.com/topics/Zend-Debugger-Installation-Guide.pdf
2. XDebug from Derick Rethans, one of the PHP core developers
   • Download: http://www.xdebug.org
   • Installation: http://devzone.zend.com/1120/introducing-xdebug

For further information about PHP debugging, you may want to have a look at this great article from Nathan A. Good: http://www.eclipse.org/pdt/articles/debugger/os-php-eclipse-pdt-debug-pdf.pdf