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Xdebug with PHP is a lifesaver (lemm.ee)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/programming@programming.dev
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I have no idea how I managed to program in PHP for years without Xdebug. Now when an error occurs, it just pops up in my IDE, and I can set breakpoints and see ALL of the local variables including the ones set in the higher up scripts. It makes debugging sooooo much easier.

I feel kind of silly for not assuming a tool like this existed and hunting for it. I'll never write a var_debug() again. I wonder what other absolutely vital tools are out there that I'm just completely oblivious to.

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[–] 7 points 3 years ago (1 child)

Just wait until you learn that you can debug sql queries the same way in most rdbms admin tools.

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    • [–] 3 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    Lol, I have my favorite file_put_contents line for debugging php, but being able to step through code would be great. What's your setup? Last time I tried I couldn't get xdebug working on win server + apache.

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  • [–] [S] 5 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (1 child)

    I'm on Ubuntu, but from what I remember to get it working in my local environment I just:

    • Installed the module.
    • Added the following to the php.ini file:
        [xdebug]
    zend_extension=xdebug
    xdebug.mode = debug
    xdebug.start_with_request = yes
    • Restarted the apache server.
    • Installed the PHP Debug extension for Visual Studio Code.

    And now I just hit F5 and select "Listen for Xdebug" and I'm ready to go.

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