I have spent a lot of time recently working with Zend Framework. As I get further into its features and capabilities, the more I enjoy developing websites and web applications with it. While researching ideas and options, I came across ZFDebug, a plugin that adds a debug bar to the bottom of your pages if you are in the "development" environment. The plugin is hosted on Google Code and is licensed under the New BSD License.

At current release (1.5) ZFDebug offers the following features:

• Cache: Information on Zend_Cache and APC.
• Database: Full listing of SQL queries and the time for each.
• Exception: Error handling of errors and exceptions.
• File: Number and size of files included with complete list.
• Html: Number of external stylesheets and javascripts. Link to validate with W3C.
• Memory: Peak memory usage, memory usage of action controller and support for custom memory measurements.
• Registry: Contents of Zend_Registry
• Time: Timing information of current request, time spent in action controller and custom timers. Also average, min and max time for requests.
• Variables: View variables, request info and contents of $COOKIE and $POST

(list from ZFDebug)

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3

I use Dreamweaver for all of my coding needs. I use it to write (X)HTML, CSS, PHP, and JavaScript for my sites. There are many free options available to do what I need, like HTML-Kit, but I'm hooked on the code editor in Dreamweaver. I don't ever use the visual design aspect of Dreamweaver, so I don't actually use everything that Dreamweaver offers. Maybe I'll choose a free option next time instead of upgrading to CS4. For now though, I love what Dreamweaver has to offer and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an editor they are willing to pay for.

Adobe Photoshop CS3

I use Photoshop for everything graphics. i have been using it for a long time now and you just can't beat it. There are some other programs out there that offer great features like GIMP, but for me it just doesn't compare. Photoshop is easy to use, easy to understand, and offers an amazing number of features that can be used to create incredibly unique images. Beyond the basics, there are a ton of tutorials available to get the most out of what Photoshop can do. If you want to use Photoshop, but can't drop that much money into it, you can try Photoshop Elements which is a watered down version that includes most of the core functionality needed, as well as the new free online Photoshop Express.

WordPress

I use WordPress to publish this blog and although I'm not able to publish a new post everyday, I am writing drafts and working on posts everyday. I love WordPress because of all the available plugins, themes, as well as the updates to security and features. This is a huge time-saver. I am able to manage the whole blog from an easy administration module of the blog. Maintainance is also really easy because it requires very little coding in the backend; most things can be done with a plugin. Of all the available blog systems, WordPress is my favorite and I plan to stick with it.

FileZilla

I use FileZilla as my main FTP client. To be honest it isn't my favorite though. I used SmartFTP for as long as I can remember, but as of recent I have been using FileZilla because SmartFTP is no longer free. I have thought about purchasing the new SmartFTP, but haven't yet because FileZilla is growing on me. FileZilla is fast, easy and although not the greatest looking, it works very well all the time. If you are looking for free FTP clients, check out the 5 Best Free FTP Program, which includes FileZilla.

phpMyAdmin

I use phpMyAdmin for managing all of my MySQL databases. I have been using this tool for as long as I have been using MySQL and have yet to consider a new option. There are other tools out there, but this one has so many great features. I love the import/export options, the ability to create, insert, delete, and update rows visually, and view query output in a nice table form. Although writing SQL isn't that hard after a few times, it is nice to be able to just click the red X and delete a row or update multiple rows without having to write and update statement for each. I find that some things are a little slow to load and I wish there was some Ajax worked in to speed things up. Hopefully that is on the way in a future release, but even without it, I love this tool.

dotProject

I use dotProject to manage my tasks and projects, both big and small. There are some other options out there for managing tasks like Remember The Milk, but I found myself using dotProejct for the little things because I had already been in the habit of going to dotProject on a regular basis to check and update my progress. There are a number of great features that keep me hooked on dotProject. There is a Gantt chart, a number of prebuilt reports for tracking projects or tasks or people, and an easy to use interface. I have been very pleased with this app and will continue to use it and recommend it.

Google

This one is a no-brainer. I use Google dozens of times a day. Any time I need to find something out, I look to Google to recommend some answers. Thankfully there are websites out there that offer a plethera of information that I refer to time and time again, but Google is there to help me continue to learn new things. I often look for code examples, web standards, tutorials, news, and so much more related to web development and web design. This one does't need much explanation, so I will stop here.

Contribute: What's in your development/design toolbox? Please share in the comments what you find helpful enough to use everyday (or at least close to everyday).

Aptana Studio is an IDE for creating web 2.0 applications. It can be downloaded and run as an application or run in the Eclipse IDE. The IDE can be purchased as a professional edition or downloaded in an open source community edition. The open source community edition boasts over 1,300,000 downloads with a combined total including the professional version of more than 2,200,000 downloads to date. This application is designed and optimized for web development languages such as JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, and PHP, with other plugins available including Adobe AIR and iPhone development.

Aptana is backed by many big names in the industry. The advisory board is made up of Ajax gurus like Brendan Eich and John Resig from Mozilla, Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith who are the founder and co-founder of ajaxian.com, and Jack Slocum from EXT JS. With a lineup like this, it is no surprise that the Aptana Studio has as many downloads and as much supports as it does.

Notable Features

• FTP Support - There is built-in FTP support for working with remote files. The community edition includes only basic FTP protocols, while the professional edition adds SFTP support.
• Plugins - There are many plugins available to extend the functionality of the IDE including SVN, MySQL, PHP, and more.
• Code Snippets - There are many code snippets integrated with the default package that can save time when using common code techniques.
• Debugging - There is integrated debugging with Firebug for Firefox. The professional version also includes debugging capabilities for Internet Explorer.
• DOM Support - There is an integrated code assist function that provides help for browser support and information pertaining to the DOM.
• Code Assist - There are helpful hints and suggestions for HTML and CSS code to speed up the development process.
• Ajax Libraries - There are many prepackaged Ajax and JavaScript libraries like YUI, Mootools, Prototype, and Scriptaculous.
• Integrated Proxy - There are proxy capabilities available to allow Aptana to be used behind a firewall.
• Integrated Help - There are several integrated help documents for included JavaScript libraries, alleviating the need to load the help documentation in a web browser. You can have it directly available in pane within Aptana.
• Error Checking - There is line by line error checking and reporting to take the guess work out of troubleshooting. You will be told and shown what and where the error occurred.