Since this comes up every time there's a Jetbrains sale, here's the rundown on how the products relate to each other.
First, the easy ones. ReSharper, dotTrace and dotCover are all independent products that don't really overlap with the ones I'm about to talk about.
The "Core" doesn't exist as a product, but it's all the things that are product-independent and aren't provided by plugins like the editor, HTML/CSS/JS editing support, debugger, theming, etc. I'm mentioning it because each IDE ends up with a slightly different version of the Core based on when it was released, which means that using IntelliJ with the Python plugin might not have all the features of PyCharm if PyCharm got a major version update more recently than IntelliJ.
WebStorm (JS/HTML/CSS IDE) has the core functionality plus Node.js plugins. You can install other plugins, but only a limited subset.
AppCode (Obj-C IDE) has the core functionality plus product-specific Obj-C plugins that you can't install in any of the other IDEs. AppCode only shares a few plugins with other IDEs, like the Vim emulation.
RubyMine, PhpStorm and PyCharm have the core functionality plus language/platform-specific plugins for Ruby, PHP and Python respectively. You can install other plugins, but nothing that would turn one of these into the other, for example installing the PHP plugin in PyCharm.
IntelliJ IDEA has the core functionality plus a huge variety of Java plugins. It can also use the language-specific plugins from WebStorm, RubyMine, PhpStorm and PyCharm as well as others that are downloadable. It can install almost all of the plugins that are supported on the platform - the only exception I'm aware of is Obj-C support.
Is there a point in buying WebStorm if I purchase IDEA?
I've been using WebStorm lately and have been considering purchasing it but I'm also learning Scala on the side and would also benefit from IDEA. If IDEA can handle NodeJS and TypeScript is there a point to purchasing WebStorm as well?
No, there's not really any additional benefit to owning both if you're already buying IDEA. WebStorm's features are essentially a subset of IDEA's. They have a slightly different release schedule (WebStorm seems to be more frequent), but everything that gets added to WebStorm ends up in IDEA reasonably quickly.
Please contact sales@jetbrains.com. If you buy IntelliJ IDEA I hope sales can help you with getting WebStorm for free (or with a discount). Scala support is part of IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition (which is free), but IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate has additional nice features.
Unfortunately, the Play framework plugin is only for the Ultimate edition (last time I checked).
I'm currently working my way through the Functional Programming in Scala course on Coursera using Eclipse. I'm not sure if I would make use of IDEA for now which is why I'm unsure whether to buy it or save myself $70 and get WebStorm only. Plus I think WebStorm currently supports TypeScript better than IDEA but that could change with an update.
I'll definitely pay the $99 if they throw in WebStorm. Is that something you've heard JetBrains has done in the past?
Honestly, for that class it probably doesn't matter much as it's focusing more on functional programming theory than anything complex in terms of application structure or environment. I did it in Eclipse when I took the first iteration of the course, and I didn't really have much trouble. Unless they've added alternate project files, you'd probably have to convert the worksheets and projects to the IDEA format, and that'd be a bit of a hassle.
That said, for general use I really like the Scala support in IDEA. I'd suggest playing around with the free version a bit - as you mention, Play support is only in Ultimate, but the Scala plugin itself works fine in Community. You can get a feel for how IDEA manages projects, handles debugging, that kind of thing.
This is not completely obvious from their website or from your (very helpful) post: if I buy PhpStorm do I get all the features of WebStorm? Their site says "PhpStorm includes all the features of WebStorm related to HTML, CSS and JavaScript." and that "related to" made me think that maybe there's something else missing. Is it?
Yes, you will get ALL WebStorm features in PhpStorm. They are built from the same source code. One difference: not all plugins bundled with WebStorm are by default available in PhpStorm but you can install them from the plugin repository. Such plugin is JSTestDriver, for example.
Before I started using Sublime Text Editor for everything, PHPStorm was my go-to GUI for not only PHP coding but everything else as well, an awesome company and a great cause. I highly recommend their tools, they also have pretty good support and offer free licences to educational institutes and open source projects.
Yeah, I went the opposite too, from SBT to PyCharm (their Python optimized IDE that has everything Web Storm + first class Python support). I work with a lot of JavaScript (specifically Angular.JS) from this setup and can't say enough good things. A nice side-benefit is that you can also work Node.JS in this version after installing the plugin.
EDIT: I still use SBT2 for looking at source code, especially projects cloned from github for learning, etc...but my main work projects are now in PyCharm.
If you are primarily working with just PHP (well most of the time), PHPStorm is the best choice. It has some of the best debugging features you'll ever encounter (I originally came from Eclipse) and the Syntax highlighting is second to none. The great thing about what PHPStorm also does is you can see where everything is, hovering over a function or anything documented for that matter will show the documentation for said function. For Wordpress development especially it's really useful.
The reason I moved to Sublime is I no longer primarily work with just PHP any more. Javascript, HTML, Python, Ruby, Node.js and CSS are some of the languages I find myself in. Sublime lacks a lot of nice features that PHPStorm has and definitely is a bit more manual in some aspects, I do miss the intelligent syntax highlighting and checking (warning you if you forgot to close a if statement and whatnot).
I really like JetBrain's stuff, I use it every day.
That said, one annoyance with it:
When you have a personal license, it does a network check to ensure that the license is only in use on one machine on the LAN and locks out other instances popping up a 'reactivation' dialog in them. The check is fine and reasonable, I just wish it worked a different way as it messes with my workflow on a regular basis.
I work primarily from home and like switching between my laptop and my desktop regularly. I may use my laptop outside when its nice or just sit on the couch for a change in position then sit my desktop for awhile or maybe I need more horsepower or screen space than a macbook air can provide. I generally just like to change things up periodically.
The fact that it completely locks out the other IDE almost instantly can get really annoying. I sync code through github but if I forget to sync something, I then play whack-a-mole with the dialogs to get back to work. Another annoying thing is when I close my laptop then move to my desktop but want to check on something on the laptop completely unrelated and as soon as I open the lid, boom desktop is locked out.
I really wish it had some sort of timeout, read only mode or just allowed 2 instances as I can't imagine my situation is all that unique.
I have the same issue. I reluctantly purchased two personal licenses to get around the issue.
Unfortunately their systems aren't set up to deal with multiple personal licenses and it requires a call to their sales department every time I renew.
Now I am bouncing among 3 machines and getting frustrated again but buying a third license just to get rid of the message is not an option.
I am not 'using' the instances simultaneously but it's incredibly inconvenient to keep opening and closing the IDE as I change from one machine to another.
I understand the need to protect their source of revenue but there really needs to be a better solution than this.
I use PhpStorm, pyCharm and WebStorm on a personal Computer and a Laptop. Laptop Goes to work with me every day, but I use both interchangeably at home all the time. A big part of my workflow is to use the laptop to run tests or manage another project while I'm coding on the desktop or the reverse.
Granted I did call them two years ago when I first wanted to do this and asked, so maybe they added something to my account, but I was simply told at the time that I could.
I live in IntelliJ and AppCode. I'm quite certain that no other software has given me the same bang for the buck. My work would be significantly less pleasant if I had to use XCode and Eclipse instead.
PHPStorm is great for php and javascript development, highly recommended! If their corporate licensing prices were more startup friendly, I'd get a copy for everyone on my team.
I keep my personal IntelliJ license up to date. Mostly because I like choice and competition. I would be sad if jetbrains didn't exist.
I use work-provided IntelliJ for the day gig. It's okay.
I use Eclipse for my personal projects. Momentum mostly, been using it since the alphas. But I do greatly prefer the single problem(s) view. And the InstaSearch plugin rocks (Eclipse's stock search blows).
I use SublimeText for most non source code editing.
I switched from Eclipse to PyCharm last year and I am very happy with it.
I was looking into IntelliJ to have a more polyglot environment. Could anyone tell me if I can get all the features found in PyCharm (.e.g wonderful Django support) if I switch to IntelliJ and then install the Python plugin?
the python plugin for intellij adds similar level of code assistance (including django support) as pycharm. the only difference is in releases dates. intellij idea gets all new features with a small delay (and vice versa pycharm gets some new features with a small delay after intellij release).
Bought IDEA during the Doomsday Sale, first time I tried was the 'big' downtime and failed, and then waited several hours and tried again. One of the best purchases I've done!
I was two weeks anyway from buying it at full price when that sale happened.
I can't recommend IntelliJ enough, second only to Visual Studio. Nothing in the Java world beats it, plus all the framework and other language support it has is just great!
I also picked up IntelliJ this time around. Even though I mostly do .Net development, it's too good an offer to pass up. This gives me an excuse to translate some of my libraries to Java.
If you toss their sales department (sales@jetbrains.com) an email, they'll probably help you out. I've never had to do it myself, but they have a reputation for being very accommodating regarding buying just before sales.
Edit: Just to be clear, I don't work for them, have no affiliation, etc.
First, the easy ones. ReSharper, dotTrace and dotCover are all independent products that don't really overlap with the ones I'm about to talk about.
The "Core" doesn't exist as a product, but it's all the things that are product-independent and aren't provided by plugins like the editor, HTML/CSS/JS editing support, debugger, theming, etc. I'm mentioning it because each IDE ends up with a slightly different version of the Core based on when it was released, which means that using IntelliJ with the Python plugin might not have all the features of PyCharm if PyCharm got a major version update more recently than IntelliJ.
WebStorm (JS/HTML/CSS IDE) has the core functionality plus Node.js plugins. You can install other plugins, but only a limited subset.
AppCode (Obj-C IDE) has the core functionality plus product-specific Obj-C plugins that you can't install in any of the other IDEs. AppCode only shares a few plugins with other IDEs, like the Vim emulation.
RubyMine, PhpStorm and PyCharm have the core functionality plus language/platform-specific plugins for Ruby, PHP and Python respectively. You can install other plugins, but nothing that would turn one of these into the other, for example installing the PHP plugin in PyCharm.
IntelliJ IDEA has the core functionality plus a huge variety of Java plugins. It can also use the language-specific plugins from WebStorm, RubyMine, PhpStorm and PyCharm as well as others that are downloadable. It can install almost all of the plugins that are supported on the platform - the only exception I'm aware of is Obj-C support.
Hope that answers some questions.