One of the big topics that still making companies worry for choosing PHP as their programming language is the lack of Enterprise Frameworks. I mean by Enterprise Frameworks, a standard framework that could be used by anyone for any development purpose. PEAR for example is a collection of PHP classes and libraries, but the way you use those classes could differ from a developer to another, it’s not that easy to make the different classes and library cohabite in one framework. And even that many Frameworks are based on PEAR they still lack of many feature that make them difficult to use for many developers. Changing the core of a framework everytime you need a new feature isn’t a framework and day after day extension will become part of the core so you can’t make difference between the basic code and the optional one.
This have been said, the purpose for developping a new framework isn’t to reinvent the wheel, but “as PHP attracts larger and larger businesses, there is a greater need for such a component library” as Wez Said. I feel the need for such framework not the reasons of marketing PHP, but this need we feel it in our everyday work. Most of us use their own framework or a modified version of a known framework (modified until you can’t reconize its origine).
Aside from clean IP, there are also questions of code reliability an stability; is the code any good, is the API going to be subject to wild changes between releases, what kind of testing and QA procedures are in place? Can you trust that they’ll be adhered to?
The great features announced for this new framework are
-
Keep PHP competitive among other technologies including Ruby-on-Rails,
Spring, .NET, etc.. - No framework today supports extreme simplicity
- Provide “clean” IP to enable commercial use
- Structured development process will lead to uniform code base
- Take full support of PHP 5
With the Principles to :
-
Keep it ‘extremely simple’ – stick to 20%/80% rule and compensate by:
- Extensibility
- Use-at-will architecture
- Configuration-less
- Cherry pick best-of-breed ideas
- Showcase current trends in Web development (Web Services, Ajax, Search, …)
- Document development with use-cases
- Only high quality and necessary components
There is already many contributors to this project including 100days.de, bebe.com, IBM, JamboWorks, Ning, OmniTI, php|architect, StepUp Commerce, SugarCRM, and Zend. A Web application framework which standardizes the way PHP applications are built. The Zend PHP Framework accelerates and improves the development and deployment of mission-critical PHP Web applications in an extreme Simplicity .
“With more than 40 percent of all Web applications running PHP, PHP has already proven itself as an
industrial-grade dynamic language,”
declared Doron Gerstel, CEO of Zend Technologies.
“Now, with the community and our partners, we are collectively taking PHP to the next level
by leading open source projects based on de-facto standards. The open source Zend PHP Framework
and Eclipse-based development environment initiatives, combined with PHP’s exceptional ease of use,
will transform the way Web applications are developed and deployed.”
Zend is working with the PHP community and independent software vendors (ISVs) to develop the open
source Zend PHP Framework project. This framework is designed to bring extreme simplicity, an open
standard, a friendly license and a structured development process all leading to a uniform code base
for next-generation Web applications.
“PHP’s simplicity can ease adoption and reduce complexity and cost for corporate developers,”
said Rod Smith, IBM Fellow and vice president of the company’s emerging software technology group.
“We look forward to collaborating with the PHP community and Zend to further accelerate PHP as a
leading paradigm for assembling next-generation Web enabled business applications that broaden
solutions that IBM delivers to customers.”
“As a committed leader and supporter of innovation of all kinds, Intel welcomes the PHP Collaboration
Project as a new paradigm for PHP application development and deployment,” said Jon Bork, Director of
Intel’s Open Source Program Office. “We believe this initiative will be a positive catalyst to help
propel the open source community to new levels of innovation.”
Zend also announced that it has joined the Eclipse Foundation and its ISV community as a Strategic
Developer. Within the Foundation, Zend will propose to lead a new PHP project, conveying world-class expertise
on dynamic languages to Eclipse. Zend’s participation with Eclipse will benefit participating businesses
by delivering the extreme simplicity of PHP to the active and established Eclipse development platform.
In addition, the PHP community and its customers will benefit from the Zend/Eclipse partnership through
improved access to the Eclipse open source development platform and its vibrant ecosystem.
“Actuate was the first Business Intelligence vendor to deliver open source reporting solutions
through its partnership with Eclipse,”
said Mark Coggins, senior vice president of engineering at Actuate and Eclipse Foundation board member.
“We are looking forward to our participation in the new Zend open source initiatives. Our participation in
the Framework and the Eclipse projects led by Zend will facilitate integration of our reporting solution.
The initiative is a great opportunity for ISVs to play a part in providing customers with a comprehensive
solution for building next generation PHP-based Web applications, which in Actuate’s case translates into
providing customers with a complete reporting solution for PHP.”
