Beanz meanz Netbeans!

It's been a really fun day. I spent quite a bit of time going through some object oriented php tutorials on the killer php website. There are some excellent tutorials plus short video clips that go a long way to explaining what object oriented PHP is all about and how to start using it.
My previous projects have been based on "traditional" programming methods, making extensive use of functions. Whilst I have gone to great lengths to try and separate dislay code form "business" code, I think a more structured approach is needed for future work. The approach will make a huge difference to maintainability and scalability of any new applications that I write.

I successfully downloaded the Netbeans 6.8 IDE package this evening. Once I had installed a JDK, the package went in without a hitch. I love the way it integrates with Subversion and has support for the Symfony framework right out of the box.
Netbeans is a really feature-rich package and it will take a while to get the hang of its myriad features. The time invested in this (and getting stuck into OOP) will reap dividends though with respect to productivity and code quality.

I also love the fact that I can run the same package on my Macbook as well as my Ubuntu workstation - or Windows if it comes to it, though hopefully, I can avoid THAT route!