# Zend Executable Debugger Eclipse Plugin


By Ben Ramsey

Published on January 6, 2007


**UPDATE (5 Jan, 21:00):** _Patrick Mueller has just [posted some links](http://web.archive.org/web/20070108014427/http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/pmuellr?entry=xdebug_support_for_pdt_eclipse) to information about XDebug support for PDT. Now, for those not wishing to use the Zend Debugger, you may now use XDebug._

Since I last [wrote about the Eclipse PHP IDE](/blog/2006/12/installing-the-eclipse-php-ide/) a few weeks ago, the Eclipse team has changed the name of the project to the PHP Development Tool, or PDT. So, if you've been looking for the PHP IDE, you can find it in the [same place](http://web.archive.org/web/20070109121101/http://www.eclipse.org/php/), but the name has changed. The name change isn't what I wanted to write about, though. Rather, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the _free_ Zend Executable Debugger plug-in for Eclipse.

The [Zend Executable Debugger plug-in](http://web.archive.org/web/20070106102546/http://www.zend.com/pdt#debugger) is part of the [all-in-one PDT package](http://web.archive.org/web/20070106102546/http://www.zend.com/pdt#all_in_one), but if you want to install it on your own---since it's possible to use this debugger without the PDT and with [PHPEclipse](http://web.archive.org/web/20070613122159/http://www.phpeclipse.de/tiki-view_articles.php), for example---then you'll need to install it using the Eclipse Update Manager (the easier way).

To install the Zend Executable Debugger plug-in using the Update Manager, follow the [instructions I provided earlier](/blog/2006/12/installing-the-eclipse-php-ide/) to set up a new update site using the following information:

* [**PHP Development Tool**](http://web.archive.org/web/20070106102546/http://www.zend.com/pdt) (PDT) \
    <small>UPDATE URL: `http://downloads.zend.com/pdt`</small>

Please note that the Zend Executable Debugger is not available from the Eclipse site's PHP update URL listed in my earlier post. Instead, you must use the Zend update URL (listed here) to install the debugger. When installing, if you already have the PDT installed, simply choose to install only the Zend Debugger.

^^^
[![Install the Zend Debugger](https://files.benramsey.com/ws/blog/2007-01-05-zend-executable-debugger-eclipse-plugin/install-zend-debugger.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/benandliz/346807048/)
^^^ **Figure 1.** Install the Zend Debugger

Once installed, you can debug a PHP script by selecting the script and choosing `Run > Debug As > PHP Script`, and that's all there is to it. The debugging output appears in the console tab, shown here:

^^^
[![Debug Output in the Console Tab](https://files.benramsey.com/ws/blog/2007-01-05-zend-executable-debugger-eclipse-plugin/debug-output-console.jpg)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/benandliz/346807050/)
^^^ **Figure 2.** Debug Output in the Console Tab