Xdebug: confused about PhpStorm installation/configuration

Hi there,

1) What are you trying to debug -- a web page or a CLI script (or both)?

2) You do not need local PHP Interpreter if you do not plan to execute anything local. But it will be needed if you plan to run local PHPUnit tests, CodeSniffer / Composer integrations and other tools that require PHP.

3) You do not need any PHP Interpreter configured in PhpStorm if you plan to debug web pages -- they will be handled by your web server (nginx + php-fpm as I understand) and IDE is unable to influence it anyway (provide own starting config options etc).

4) Cannot really comment on Xdebug Wizard -- never used it (no real need -- it's for those who want simplify their life and pick the right binaries / basic setup without reading all the docs and getting into the details). But yes -- Xdebug Wizard now covers PHP 7.x only -- it's just to encourage people to move from old and slower 5.x version, config wise it will be the same.

In general: https://confluence.jetbrains.com/display/PhpStorm/Debugging+with+PhpStorm

Thanks Andriy - you've helped clarify a couple of things. To respond to your points.

1) I'm trying to build/debug web applications, not CLI scripts.

2) What you wrote about using a local PHP interpreter to run local testing makes sense.  I'm still learning about the aspects of PhpStorm and other IDEs beyond coding and debugging.

3) My LAN web server runs Apache not nginx, and Apache is also deployed on the development servers.  I don't quite understand your point about the IDE not being able to influence the web server, but perhaps I'm misreading what you wrote.  I've been reading more about debugging with PhpStorm  - in particular extensions for browsers so that initiating a debug session is simplified.  In this regard, PhpStorm seems more complicated than NetBeans (for which I just need to tell it to debug - the Xdebug part happens transparently).

4) Your comment about the Xdebug Wizard is answer enough.  After looking more closely at the Xdebug installation process I realized that the Ubuntu package didn't much. There appears to be just a single module that got installed (configuration of .ini files is another matter).  So I compiled the 2.6.1 module, copied it to the right place, and then reloaded phpinfo.php and reran Xdebug Wizard which passed.  One more possible issue resolved, so back to PhpStorm itself for the deployment and debug settings.

>I don't quite understand your point about the IDE not being able to influence the web server, but perhaps I'm misreading what you wrote

If you want to execute/debug some CLI script then it can be initiated from within the IDE -- it will execute your PHP executable and can pass any config parameters if needed in command line (e.g. enable xdebug, specify xdebug host/port etc).

But if it's a web page... then processing PHP code is controlled by your web server (in your case Apache -- it is the one that launches PHP executable/module for that; main config is done via php.ini) and PhpStorm cannot control this aspect (it cannot say: "hey Apache, load currently disabled xdebug extension for me when processing this URL").

With that in mind: there is no need defining PHP Interpreter if it's just web page debugging.

>In this regard, PhpStorm seems more complicated than NetBeans (for which I just need to tell it to debug - the Xdebug part happens transparently).

You can initiate web page debug from IDE as well (e.g. Run/Debug Configuration of "PHP Web Page" type) -- IDE will add xdebug specific parameter to the URL. Browser extension is better though (IMO) -- more flexible; enable/disable debug me flag (cookie) only when needed etc.

Plus, do not forget that different people have different setups and requirements for debugging (especially remote one). More detailed setup allows to cover more cases/situations.

You are new to this IDE (IDEA platform in general) so it takes time to get the idea, get know the stuff etc. Once you learn it you will see that setting up debugging on IDE side is nothing special at all (minimal efforts) -- in most cases configuring xdebug on php.ini side / open firewall ports etc is where the time is spent.

Thanks for your patience Andriy. I had to go back a few steps on the server because of some changes I'd made, but now NetBeans debug is working again with PHP 7.2. 

It seems that using the browser extensions and enabling/disabling through the browser is a little different than the way NetBeans works for debugging when I can see a web page opened that initiates debugging separately from the page I'm trying to debug - or perhaps it's the beginning of the page.  It doesn't matter much as I'm trying to get PhpStorm working, and the only reason to use NetBeans is to compare what happens.

Can you tell me what I'm doing wrong with the following steps?

• Settings | Languages & Frameworks | PHP | Debug brings up a window with four sections

1. I've gone through all the steps in the Pre-Configration section. The Xdebug configuration validates. I've installed Xdebug helper in Firefox. The listening button is green. And I started a debugging session with Xdebug helper - it's button is green.
2. The External Connections section has "Ignore external connections through unregistered server configurations" unchecked, "Break at first line in PHP scripts" checked, and "Max. simultaneous connections" is 1.
3. The Xdebug section has port 9999 (the same as the server and a port that works for me), "Force break at first line when no path mapping specified" is checked, and "Force break at first line when a script is outside the project" is also checked.
4. I'm assuming I can ignore the Zend Debugger section.  I haven't changed anything.

• I click the Green bug in the toolbar, or right click in the script and choose "debug " scriptname
• I see a window titled Edit Configuration,

1. It shows the name of the script in the top section
2. The next section (Configuration) shows a full pathname within the local PhpStorm folder on the local computer, ending in the script name
3. The next section (Command Line) has three boxes - Interpreter Options, Custom Working Directory, Environment Variables - all blank
4. The next section (Before Launch) was empty.  I changed it to start a browser and activate tool window, but there was no difference.
5. The last section shows an Error: Interpreter is not specified or invalid. Press "Fix" to edit your project configuration. If I click Debug the message is "Configuration is still incorrect. Do you want to edit it again?"  If I click "Continue anyway"  I see an error message in the event log "Error running 'testfile.php': Interpreter is not specified or invalid. Press ''Fix'' to edit your project configuration.

• If I click Fix, or otherwise edit the project configuration, it's getting too complicated to describe in detail.  I can see an option of No Interpreter or a PHP 5.6 interpreter (which PhpStorm appears to have retained from earlier experiments)

I've messed something up and now it doesn't validate.   I'm running out of brainpower, but before I submit this, one last question.  Am I correct in thinking that PhpStorm uploads to the remote server via FTP/FTPS/SFTP (for the validation script for example) and not using a mapped drive for a remote server?  If so, I misinterpreted.

So far your Xdebug config is fine (they are basically defaults except port number).

>I click the Green bug in the toolbar, or right click in the script and choose "debug " scriptname

When you do that .. and you do not have any Run/Debug Configuration already selected .. then it will attempt to debug PHP script in CLI mode (Run/Debug Configuration of "PHP Script" type) where you need PHP Interpreter configured (which can be Local or Remote).

Since you went the "Zero config" way (where you initiate debug from your browser) and you want to debug a web page... you do not need to create any Run/Debug Configurations. https://confluence.jetbrains.com/display/PhpStorm/Zero-configuration+Web+Application+Debugging+with+Xdebug+and+PhpStorm

>Am I correct in thinking that PhpStorm uploads to the remote server via FTP/FTPS/SFTP (for the validation script for example) and not using a mapped drive for a remote server?

I'm not using such stuff myself (no need at all for me) .. but it should be using your current Deployment entry (selected as Default for this project) which could be FTP / SFTP / FTPS or local/mapped folder.

I finally made some progress.  Debugging a PHP file with output and variables visible in PhpStorm and output in the browser!  It looks like I should do some clean up to minimize further confusion (repeating mistakes), but at last I have something I can work with.

THANKS!