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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
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  4. IDE
  5. PhpStorm vs Tower

PhpStorm vs Tower

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

PhpStorm
PhpStorm
Stacks14.3K
Followers11.1K
Votes1.6K
Tower
Tower
Stacks214
Followers360
Votes80

PhpStorm vs Tower: What are the differences?

<PhpStorm vs Tower>

1. **Price:** PhpStorm is a licensed IDE with a pricing model based on subscription fees, whereas Tower is a Git desktop client with a one-time purchase cost.
2. **Features:** PhpStorm is a full-featured integrated development environment focusing on PHP programming language, while Tower specifically caters to Git version control tasks with a user-friendly interface.
3. **Target Users:** PhpStorm is primarily aimed at PHP developers, offering comprehensive tools for web development projects, while Tower is designed for software developers looking for a powerful Git client for version control management.
4. **Platforms:** PhpStorm is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, providing a versatile development environment, whereas Tower is limited to macOS and Windows, potentially restricting its usage for Linux users.
5. **Community and Support:** PhpStorm has a large community of users and extensive documentation, providing robust support resources, while Tower, although user-friendly, may have limited community support due to its specific focus on Git tasks.
6. **Learning Curve:** PhpStorm may have a steeper learning curve for beginners due to its extensive feature set and capabilities, whereas Tower's intuitive interface makes it easier for users to quickly grasp Git workflows and functionalities.

In Summary, PhpStorm and Tower cater to different needs in the development ecosystem, with PhpStorm focusing on PHP development within a comprehensive IDE, while Tower offers a streamlined Git client experience for version control tasks.

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Advice on PhpStorm, Tower

Johnny
Johnny

Software Engineer at StackShare

Aug 15, 2019

Needs adviceonVisual Studio CodeVisual Studio CodePhpStormPhpStormWebStormWebStorm

When I switched to Visual Studio Code 12 months ago from PhpStorm I was in love, it was great. However after using VS Code for a year, I see myself switching back and forth between WebStorm and VS Code. The VS Code plugins are great however I notice Prettier, auto importing of components and linking to the definitions often break, and I have to restart VS Code multiple times a week and sometimes a day.

We use Ruby here so I do like that Visual Studio Code highlights that for me out of the box, with WebStorm I'd need to probably also install RubyMine and have 2 IDE's going at the same time.

Should I stick with Visual Studio Code, or switch to something else? #help

1.02M views1.02M
Comments

Detailed Comparison

PhpStorm
PhpStorm
Tower
Tower

PhpStorm is a PHP IDE which keeps up with latest PHP & web languages trends, integrates a variety of modern tools, and brings even more extensibility with support for major PHP frameworks.

Use all of Git's powerful feature set - in a GUI that makes you more productive.

Smart PHP Code Editor;Code Quality Analysis;Debugging and Testing;HTML/CSS/JavaScript Editor;Cross-platform Experience;Support for all major PHP frameworks;VCS; SQL Editor; Unit Testing;
Clone & create repos with a click - Manage your GitHub, Bitbucket & Beanstalk accounts from within Tower;Open repos quickly - Tower's "Quick Open" dialog finds and opens repositories in no time;Automate the boring stuff - Fetching and stashing are automatically done for you, if you wish;Clone in the background- Downloading large projects happens in the background, while you work;Multiple windows - Have multiple projects open side-by-side
Statistics
Stacks
14.3K
Stacks
214
Followers
11.1K
Followers
360
Votes
1.6K
Votes
80
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 287
    Best ide for php
  • 232
    Easy to use
  • 218
    Functionality
  • 166
    Plugins
  • 160
    Code analysis
Cons
  • 14
    Uses a lot of memory
  • 10
    Does not open large files
  • 9
    Slow
  • 8
    Uses Java machine
  • 3
    No way to change syntax highlight for files without ext
Pros
  • 19
    Git
  • 16
    Just works
  • 10
    Version control
  • 6
    Awesome
  • 6
    Simple layout
Cons
  • 5
    Expensive
  • 4
    Subscription based
  • 1
    No side by side diff
  • 0
    Merge conflict resolution impossible/unclear
Integrations
Vagrant
Vagrant
Google App Engine
Google App Engine
Bitbucket
Bitbucket
TextMate
TextMate
Visual Studio
Visual Studio
GitHub
GitHub
GitLab
GitLab
Git
Git
Xcode
Xcode
Gerrit Code Review
Gerrit Code Review
Beanstalk
Beanstalk

What are some alternatives to PhpStorm, Tower?

IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ IDEA

Out of the box, IntelliJ IDEA provides a comprehensive feature set including tools and integrations with the most important modern technologies and frameworks for enterprise and web development with Java, Scala, Groovy and other languages.

Visual Studio

Visual Studio

Visual Studio is a suite of component-based software development tools and other technologies for building powerful, high-performance applications.

WebStorm

WebStorm

WebStorm is a lightweight and intelligent IDE for front-end development and server-side JavaScript.

SourceTree

SourceTree

Use the full capability of Git and Mercurial in the SourceTree desktop app. Manage all your repositories, hosted or local, through SourceTree's simple interface.

NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE

NetBeans IDE is FREE, open source, and has a worldwide community of users and developers.

PyCharm

PyCharm

PyCharm’s smart code editor provides first-class support for Python, JavaScript, CoffeeScript, TypeScript, CSS, popular template languages and more. Take advantage of language-aware code completion, error detection, and on-the-fly code fixes!

Eclipse

Eclipse

Standard Eclipse package suited for Java and plug-in development plus adding new plugins; already includes Git, Marketplace Client, source code and developer documentation. Click here to file a bug against Eclipse Platform.

Android Studio

Android Studio

Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready.

RubyMine

RubyMine

JetBrains RubyMine IDE provides a comprehensive Ruby code editor aware of dynamic language specifics and delivers smart coding assistance, intelligent code refactoring and code analysis capabilities.

GitKraken

GitKraken

The downright luxurious Git client for Windows, Mac and Linux. Cross-platform, 100% standalone, and free.

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