debugging php on mac? - php

Question

was wondering what was the best way to debug PHP on my local machine. I use MAMP on mac os 10.5
thanks,
Patrick

Answer 1

Using xdebug is a good start. Download the package and follow the instructions in the INSTALL file. It's fairly easy. Once this is done, add the following lines to your php.ini file:
;;[xdebug]
zend_extension="/Path/to/your/module/xdebug.so"
xdebug.file_link_format="txmt://open?url=file://%f&line=%1"
xdebug.var_display_max_depth = 20
Don't forget to restart Apache after this.
Most debugging can be done using a simple die(var_dump($some_variable)). It's not very sophisticated, but with xdebug installed, the output of a vardump looks pretty good in a browser. In most of the cases this is enough.
If you need more control, you can add an xdebug_break(); statement in your code and add the following lines to your php.ini:
xdebug.remote_enable=1
xdebug.remote_host=localhost
xdebug.remote_port=9000
xdebug.remote_autostart=1
Again, don't forget to restart Apache.
Now, using a tool like MacGDBp (or Eclipse+PDT if you must), you get a classic debugger. You can step though your program.
Have fun!

Answer 2

I've always thought the "best" way of PHP debugging on any platform is by using FirePHP, which can output debug messages straight into the Firebug window in Firefox.

Answer 3

I've found that running php -l myfile.php is great at catching syntax errors before I try and reload the page in my browser (and thus prevent the abominable White Screen of Death). Beyond that, I just point my browser to my local webserver and try to access the pages.
You can do some nifty things in your code itself (like using debug_backtrace()), but that (obviously) requires you to put it in the code yourself.

Answer 4

Personally, I use Eclipse+PDT and XDebug. To simplify things, get Eclipse for PHP Developers from the Eclipse download page rather than installing PDT as a plugin. Eclipse has a high learning curve, but it gives you all the debugger functionality you expect: instruction stepping, breakpoints, watches, even altering variables live.
If you don't like Eclipse or find it's too much for you, there are other clients compatible with XDebug.

Answer 5

I also use eclipse+pdt and xdebug. If you're new to trying out debuggers you can try zend studio which will setup things pretty easily.

Answer 6

Zend Studio is by far the best tool to use to create and debug PHP code. I run the community Edition of Zend Server on my dev Linux box and locally in a virtual machine on my MacBook Pro.
Take a look at the Zend website for details - it has cut my app development by two thirds!

Answer 7

Thanks to a bunch of links like this one and others, here's a compiled solutions that successfully uses OSX's native Apache2 and XDebug together with MacGDBp and a Safari extension called XDebug Helper.

Answer 8

You can do it even without MAMP.
There is a way how to do it using:
PhpStorm
Homebrew
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
Php + Xdebug
1) Install php and debug
brew install php70
brew install php70-xdebug
In PhpStorm - check Preferences => Language and Frameworks => PHP
Php language level: 7
Interpreter: PHP 7.0.8 + XDebug (or choose from [...])
Check debug config:
Preferences => Language and Frameworks => PHP => Debug => Xdebug section
All checkboxes should be checked and set Debug port to: 9001
2) run server in your app's directory:
php -S localhost:8080
3) Add localhost:8080 to PhpStorm Preferences => Language and Frameworks => PHP => Servers:
Name: Localhost:8080
Host: localhost
Port: 8080
Debugger: Xdebug
4) Update php.ini:
Php => Interpreter => […] => Configuration file - Open in Editor
Add this section: (check zend_extention path through the cli)
[Xdebug]
zend_extension=/usr/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20121212/xdebug.so
xdebug.remote_enable=1
xdebug.remote_host=localhost
xdebug.remote_port=9001 (same as in Debug preferences)
5) Add Debug Configuration:
Run => Edit Configuration => add - Php Web Application
Choose Localhost:8080 server
6) Click Start Listening for Php Debug Connections
7) Set up breakpoints
7) Click on Debug (Green bug)