WP Builder: An IDE for WordPress Plugins & Themes
by Colin Loretz. Average Reading Time: about a minute.
I submitted an application to Google’s Summer of Code last year on building a CMS Theme Framework for wordpress and I’m back at it this year.
An IDE for WordPress Plugins & Themes
My proposal for GSOC 2010 is an integrated development environment for WordPress to allow for integration between the code editor, publishing, developer collaboration and the WordPress codex.
Features
- Open Source: Built on Eclipse
- Code Share: Share and collaborate on WordPress projects with fellow developers using Git or SVN
- Publishing: Setup FTP to allow for publishing your plugin to a WordPress installation to see your progress and test out functionality
- WordPress Codex Autocomplete: Start typing out a wordpress tag and the IDE will display autocomplete options and relevant parameters for each.
- WordPress Codex Wizard: Forgot what codex tags to use when you’re developing a theme or plugin? The Codex Wizard can help you browse the WordPress Codex and build your queries without leaving the IDE.
Example of a WordPress Theme developer’s workflow in WP Builder
- Start Eclipse
- Create New Project
- Select WordPress Theme Project
- WP Builder will create a project with a basic template structure (index.php, page.php, single.php, etc.)
- Edit theme files within Eclipse
- Browse the Codex for template tags within the Codex Wizard
- Enter FTP information for a WordPress installation to see changes live on the web
Example of a WordPress Plugin developer’s workflow in WP Builder
- Start Eclipse
- Create New Project
- Select WordPress Plugin Project
- Select options such as “Include backend admin panel, etc.”
- WP Builder will create a project with an empty plugin shell
- Share project files with another developer across the world using a GitHub repository or SVN
- Enter FTP information for a WordPress installation to see changes live on the web
Future Roadmap Features
These features are a little ambitious for the GSOC program timeline but as future features could include:
- Testing & Debugging
- WYSIWYG editor for theme development
That’s a pretty good idea! from my experiments with different IDE’s, Aptana + Aptana PHP plugin (built on eclipse) specifically version 1.5.1 has an *amazing* php and javascript editor, it does code completion for all the wordpress functions and even for native jQuery functions. As long as they’re included in the workspace, so coupling this with some templates doesn’t sound to hard..
ps. check out https://aptanastudio.tenderapp.com/faqs/installing-aptana-studio/downloading-aptana-studio-151-and-aptana-php
I suggest to review one more very good free PHP IDE – Codelobster PHP Edition (http://www.codelobster.com)
It has special plug-in for WordPress. I use it for theme editing, it works great.