Stable Frameworks

[bradm]

With the risk of starting yet another flaming war, I'm curious as to what is the most Stable PHP Framework there is.

I do not mean what do you consider the 'best' or 'up and coming'.

I'm wandering what would be considered by many to be the most stable. To justify what I mean, we can look at the Java world.

Some can argue that Struts 1.1 is the most stable in JSP/Servlet world. Yet some will argue that SpringFramework is the best, although Spring may not be as stable in some circles.

Spending time going over some PHP frameworks over the past few weeks, and diving into some code, there have been some very nice frameworks built out there. But I'm finding that some do not seem to be very consistent.

We are looking to PHP to develop with over Java and I see alot of this is great vs this other one.

I am not looking for the perfect solution, I'm aware there is no 100% bug free components, we are looking for some suggestions.

[HarryF]

That's a really difficult question to answer.

It begins with how you implement a front controller in PHP.

The real issue is, from some angles, you don't need a framework in PHP; you just need a bunch of "components" that save you having to reinvent things like security and some experience of how best to organise your site / code. You might want to look at CoWiki (requires PHP5) for ideas on how to structure your own PHP app.

That said, if you're looking for frameworks, some to think about include;

Binary Cloud (http://www.binarycloud.com/) - everyone says this will (one day) be the most amazing framework in PHP and there's definately some talented coders working on it. Unfortunately, they haven't released anything for a long time, and there's very little documentation. You might do best by catching up with them on their mailing list: http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=binarycloud-dev&r=1&w=2

eZ publish 2.x: (http://ez.no/community) the 2.x series packs alot of functionality and has a pretty simple structure to work with (big switch statements). Downside is it's strategy to talk to a DB generates alot of queries. It's very stable now though plus there's commercial support if you need it. If you do choose 2.x, recommend avoiding their template engine for your own add ons. 3.x is very promising but "code" (kind of) get's stored in your DB and that makes we want a very stable version.

Krysalis (http://www.interakt.ro/products/Krysalis/) is inspired by the Apache Cocoon project and uses XSL "pipelining". Support for all the right buzz words like SOAP and it's an effective way to layer applications, if you like XML/XSLT. It's commercial so some features cost money but there's support if you need it.

[bradm]

Thanks Harry,

I wasn't sure on the process of BinaryCloud either. I suppose that would also need to be a factor in the decision process. By that I mean, documentation, if the project is kept up to date or at least worked on.

I have read your reviews on EZ Publish and it seemed very polished (v2.x).

Krysalis does look 'neat' but there would be a licensing issue (I believe that it uses its own editor, but I may be wrong). Seemed like a rather large learning curve / training for staff.

Your statment:

It begins with how you implement a front controller in PHP.

Is the statement that really hit home.

You read over and over again throughout this forum and others, that many people have bitten the bullet and produced their own 'Yet again another framework'. It seems as though PHP is in need of a 'Struts' project.
(PHP's own version of Jakarta) = WACT (in time)

To date I feel that the Mojavi project seems to be very suitable for what I want/need. I cannot wait to dive into WACT (need some more time). There is even a thread on the Mojavi forum regarding someone investigating the 2 possibilities together.

Mojavi is in it's infancy but very well done. After going over the framework code on that project, I really do not wish, nor do I have the time to produce such a critter. They have done a great job already. But the latest is not quite stable yet.

Thanks for your suggestions. I haven't heard of the CoWiki before, I'll look at it this weekend.

Thanks,
Brad.

[HarryF]

One other framework you may want to look at: http://www.phpmvc.net - don't know much about it but it's been around for at least a year and development is still going strong.

[NativeMind]

There's also mojavi... Harry speaks good things about it on his site so you might want to look at that too

[Resolution]

What about WACT? Though the web site keeps saying WACT is NOT a framework it sure is starting to fit the qualifications of one.

Is someone going to use WACT in their framework? I've been thinking I might if no one else does - for the challenge if aything else.

Res

[Taoism]

Don't forget Fusebox. Its the framework I use every day

Cheers,
Keith.

[biji]

Although WACT seems the best framework,
but it has never released a STABLE version yet !
I follow its development for months]

Makes me wondering,
has its API stable enough?

[feti]

If only we coders of the frameworks themselves had more time in the day to do what we want. So much work to do and not enough time to do it. Sometimes the plans we make and announce fall through due to real life activities. It's a shame, and hard to deal with at times for those using the framework.

[akrabat]

Don't forget Fusebox. Its the framework I use every day

I thought it was just me using Fusebox!

We're still on v3 but it's a doddle for us to plug together modules and build reliable sites quickly. I'm currently looking at whether to move to FB4 or Mojavi next.

Having to support PHP4 and knowing Mojavi 3 is going PHP5-only makes me worry about advancements to Mojavi2 though.