xdebug and Eclipse

July 21 2009 : posted under php eclipse xdebug pdt

xdebug is an immensely powerful tool for exploring what your code really does.

You can get a long way using print_r but ultimately this always requires that you predict the path your code will take - and the tricky bit about debugging is you need it when your predications have gone wrong.

It’s generally pretty easy to set up

install the php5-xdebug package
check that the Eclipse PHP preferences have xdebug as an option
if you’re debugging locally the default settings should be OK
create a site configuration in the debug dialog
set a break point
start debugging If it doesn’t work at first restart Eclipse

Check that you have a browser configured in Eclipse

Not all settings seem to be picked up immediately