Saturday, July 29, 2006

Programming 101: One Choice is a Good Choice - PHP


PHP

PHP is probably one of the most popular web programming languages out there, but it doesn’t seem to be popular within Enterprise domain. PHP is a language, with lots of libraries, but not a framework. Popular PHP frameworks includes
When I wanted to develop Malaysia Most Wanted, I was madly fallen in love with PHP as a web programming language. Java and .NET are both big and powerful, but PHP is a productive language (especially arrays), flexible scripting capabilities, good libraries and cheap deployment.

Okay, now I have selected a language, which framework should I use? Arghhh, there are so many out there, and none of them seems to be the industry leader. How do I select the best or something which suits my needs? Since I can’t select a industry leader (which I have no idea of), and I don’t feel like getting my hands on a few of them (though I did read some reviews, but it just isn’t convincing enough), and neither do I want to put my fate randomly with one of them, thus I decide to create my own lightweight framework. Why? Because I am not sure of the capabilities and support of these frameworks, and I want the control and flexibility. Though developing my own framework is fun, but it is time consuming and perhaps, weak at times (though I get to mold it anyway I like). Only if I know which framework is good and well supported. Too many frameworks on the same level is bad for early adopters, as we don’t know which one to choose, and supports are scattered and limited for each. We need a framework leader, a dominant choice, and not many uncertain popular choices.

In terms of IDE, the best one seems to be Zend Studio, with its own array of offerings such as Debugging, Profiling, Optimization/Caching, Code Protection and etc. Other free IDE includes
Anyway, I tried PHP Edit and PHP Coder, they are pretty nice and nifty, but Zend seems to be the most powerful and comprehensive, but it’s not free. No complaint here, Zend is the product leader by miles, and it is an easy choice.

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Quite a comprehensive review of PHP Frameworks at Taking a look at ten different PHP frameworks. Sadly the author didn't manage to pick a winner, and that's exactly what I am worry about.

Links:

2 comments:

teckiee said...

I think picking the "best" framework depends on what kind if project you are working on. Different framework, different pros and cons

Unknown said...

I agree there is no one size fit all solution, but I was hoping a more dominant framework leader might emerge from it :) such as what .NET and RoR enjoyed.