PHP Frameworks

[iwato]

When iwato has finished his quest, he will be creating the Zend examination.

Well, this might be, but first I would like to know how you and others might compare the Zend Engine with other frameworks, specifically CMS_MS, for example.Roddy

[boen_robot]

Well, this might be, but first I would like to know how you and others might compare the Zend Engine with other frameworks, specifically CMS_MS, for example.Roddy

The Zend Engine is not a PHP framework. It's the name of the PHP interpreter itself. PHP is the language, and Zend Engine is the runtime for the language... like ActionScript vs. Flash - Flash is the interpreter for ActionScript... or JAVA vs. JRE... C# vs. .NET...There are certain PHP compilers out there (as there are alternative Flash players... few people know they exist, and even fewer use them)... they are not the Zend Engine, and some don't even reference the Zend Engine, but it is they that can be compared to the Zend Engine.CMS_MS is a CMS written in PHP. Therefore, the Zend Engine can run it, and PHP compilers could (in theory at least; in practice, it depends...) compile it.There is the Zend Framework - an actual PEAR-style library of PHP classes... but that too can hardly be compared to CMS-es. Frameworks contain pieces to make it easy for you to write apps. They aren't the app itlsef.

[iwato]

The Zend Engine is not a PHP framework. It is the name of the PHP interpreter.... Frameworks contain pieces to make it easy for you to write apps. They are not the apps themselves.

Thanks for setting me clear about the Zend engine.Have you ever used a framework?Could you recommend one? And, why?Roddy

[boen_robot]

I have only used Zend Framework, and I can reccomend it.Why? Because it best fits the definition of a framework above. You have classes that make it easy for you to do certain tasks, but you can only use the tasks for which writing your own handler would be too tedious. You don't have to chain together different unrelated classes to do that one thing, and most importantly - you use the framework for that one (or several) thing(s), not as the foundation of everything.Cases in mind: - I can no longer imagine using PHP's mail() function when I know Zend_Mail does header escapes, and lets me manage attachments, SMTP server connection and other stuff by the use of a few simple methods.- I've also used Zend_Db, but not much, due to its verbosity over plain SQL queries... still, if I ever needed to make an app that must be secure AND cross DB compatible, that's the API of my choice.- I've only used Zend_Soap_AutoDiscover to see if it works, but I can tell you it's the easiest way to generate a WSDL file for a SOAP server written in PHP... OK, so if you don't know what WSDL and SOAP are, and why this is as big of a deal as it is, you're probably not as excited as I am about it, but that's just the beauty of the Zend Framework - you don't have to, unless you want to use that particular component. - I haven't used Zend_Validate_Barcode, but that's surely the easiest to use free validator for barcodes. I've only seen paid APIs before that.Many other frameworks (which I haven't "used", but I've seen videos and read some of the documentation) are more of CMS-es in code view... you have classes for application specific tasks like user registration, comment display, etc. and if you chain a few together, you have a complete app, which you can then extend with the rest of your PHP code... While it's an interesting approach, that's not an approach I personally like, due to the high level of abstraction.

[Fmdpa]

How could a framework make PHP any easier without compromising its power? PHP seems to be such an excellently written language that I can't see how a framework would improve it.

[Synook]

By abstracting all the fiddly little things that make up the individual components of PHP into nice convenient interfaces. For example, as boen_robot says, "I can no longer imagine using PHP's mail() function when I know Zend_Mail does header escapes, and lets me manage attachments, SMTP server connection and other stuff by the use of a few simple methods." The Zend Framework has taken PHP's mail functions, its stream control functions, and much more, and allowed you to interact with them all at once quickly and safely.