Best PHP Frameworks | Comparison of PHP Frameworks
Posts tagged should
Why Web Developers Should Already Be Thinking About Web 3.0
Jan 1st
Web developers have witnessed a great many new technologies, new features and new facilities within the world of web technology. Some have complicated matters, others have been little more than passing fads, and then there are those which just get us excited at the prospect of what can be achieved!
Currently there are several web technologies which are seeing a great deal of website integration. Adobe Flash is already very much in evidence across the net, although it seems not everyone has picked up on the fact that Adobe bought Macromedia some little while ago – yes, it’s still the same Flash we’re talking about. Adobe Flash has been around for some years now, although it continues to grow, providing greater versatility and is used in an increasing variety of ways. There’s no doubt about it, when it comes to vector graphics, interactivity and programming on the web, Adobe Flash has helped move the web forwards massively.
But it isn’t the only way to add interaction to your sites, nor is it necessarily the best way to generate a dynamic, interactive website. There are a host of new technologies and frameworks which are providing web developers with an abundance of choice when it comes to generating highly successful, highly effective websites for businesses. For example, Microsoft’s Silverlight, still very much in its infancy, is offering exciting possibilities, as is AJAX, and the Microsoft Net framework.
Microsoft’s ASP .Net framework has opened up a whole world of possibilities within web programming, and has allowed website developers to create web pages which almost seem to work more like software programs. In essence, this is what web pages are becoming – the visual interfaces of software stored on servers across the globe. We’re familiar with having the computing power and software routines stored on our computers, but this is an inefficient way of working.
Why do I suggest that having software on your computer rather than online is inefficient? Simply because of the way technology works. Web development isn’t the only aspect of computer technology moving at an incredible pace. Software design, solutions development, business technology – it’s all moving so quickly that by the time you install a product on your computer it’s probably already been superseded by a new version, and there are almost certainly likely to be add-ons, extras, templates, support files, tutorials and such like which will be released afterwards.
But by using a solution such as Microsoft ASP Net framework to develop web applications which operate through websites and web pages, the processing power comes from the servers, the storage is online, the updates automatic and the resources only a click away. This is a far more efficient way of working, providing software and web developers the opportunity to create products which evolve, rather than ones released at periodic intervals. For the end user, the ability to work anytime, anywhere and have full access to software solutions, data, resources and files through modern, dynamic websites helps to massively improve productivity.
The modern world of web technology demands that we all keep pace with the changing opportunities and meet the ever increasing demands of end users. But this will require us moving even further into a position where the online world of information retrieval, ASP Net style programming and solutions development interacts seamlessly with our offline resources.
Our obsession with periodic revolutions is evident in the way many people are using the term Web 2.0, but in reality if we were adding version numbers to the world wide web, we’d be a lot further past version 2 by now. I dread to think how many versions you could categorise, but one thing we can’t do is stamp a version on the web at any one particular moment, simply because, by its very nature, it is dynamic. Websites are evolving – they always have been and they will continue to do so for a very great deal more time.
It’s important that not only does the web technology continue to evolve and become more dynamic, more interactive and intuitive, more able to blend offline and online experiences, but that web developers are able to keep up with this change, anticipate new directions, and have the skill and experience to be able to tell the fads and fashions from the revolutions and opportunities. Whilst some web development companies were getting excited about Dynamic HTML page transitions, others were looking into platform independent Adobe Flash interfaces – and it’s the latter companies that made productive headway without succumbing to the tawdry temptations of being different for the sake of being different.
Change and development is only progress if it helps end users to actually progress. In other words, it is the responsibility of every web development company, and all web developers, to take advantage of the ways in which website development is tending, implement the opportunities which new platforms provide, and make sure that Web 3.0 takes us one step further towards a fully platform independent, user-centric online software experience.
What is Joomla and Should I Use It For My Website Content Management System?
Jan 1st
What is Joomla?
Joomla is an open-source Content Management System (CMS). It is also a powerful application framework, which means it is designed so many different website capabilities can be added by using “extensions” or mini-applications.
Joomla’s roots go back to 2000 and Joomla has emerged in the last few years as one the most popular open-source CMS applications being used, and boasts having over 200,000 community users and contributors.
Joomla! uses PHP and mySQL and is extremely versatile. It is more than simply popular-it just works well and a volunteer community keeps making it better and better.
How Does Joomla Work?
Like all Content Management Systems, Joomla uses a database to contain all the website’s content or text, then combines the text with a website template design in order to create website pages.
An Adminstrator page allows the website administrator to log in and have control over the entire website, for creating menu structures, adding extensions, new pages. Joomla allows you to assign different users different levels of capabilities.
For instance, you may need to have a few people writing content for the website, but not able to publish the content. Other staff can have the ability to edit and publish. This approach is great for organizations where you need many contributors, but you need to keep strict control over the website’s content.
Built-in User Registration
One of Joomla’s most powerful features is that it can register users and give approved users access to website menus and pages not visible to the general public.
The user registration and user login system can be used for giving your employees access to employee-only pages, or giving your customers access to customer-only pages, or sales representatives access to their own area – or all of the above.
You can also easily email all registered users, so keeping groups of people using your website informed is easy to do.
If you do not need user registration, you can easily disable this feature.
How is Joomla Being Used?
For corporate websites and portals For corporate intranets and extranets For community-based portals For small business websites For E-commerce websites For online magazines, newspapers For online publishing For Government applications For personal websites For school and church websites
Why is Joomla so Versatile?
Because Joomla is open-source, there are thousands of “extensions” or small mini-components available. These extensions are created by individual programmers and some commercial software companies, which work within the Joomla! framework to give your website many different capabilities-from social networking to ecommerce and more.
Joomla is like having a modular house design. If you need another room for your house, you just add another room module. With Joomla, if you need an event registration page and database capture, you can simply add an event “extension” to the website.
Who can Install and Use Joomla?
You do not have to be a “techie” to install and use Joomla, but you should have a working knowledge of how to set up a database on a web server and how to install and configure a web-based application.
Joomla can be installed on any server that supports PHP and mySQL.
Most Joomla installations will require some website customization to add a color scheme to the website template and to add your branding to the website. Because of all the many things Joomla can do from the start, often a great deal of time is needed to configure the website and turn off or disable features not needed.
Editing and Publishing Made Easy
Where Joomla really shines is once it is installed and configured. You and your staff can easily edit website content, upload photographs and create new pages, all without having to know HTML.
If you have a large website with information that changes quickly or news that needs to be added daily, Joomla is a great CMS.
Joomla has many extensions for managing news articles, and can automatically rotate new content into pages or areas of pages you designate. You can also set the date to automatically publish or expire articles or content within the website.
Joomal features include:
Search by keyword and advanced search capability Registration system for users with different menus for different groups Users can be assigned editing and publishing privileges Entirely web-based administration system Uses PHP and mySQL Open source code Over 3,800 extensions to provide many exciting website features
Getting Familiar With Joomla
The joomla.org website offers you quite a lot of information about Joomla, including an online demo, forums and documentation.
There are links to actual websites using Joomla on the joomla.org website which will show you how different Joomla can be made to look and how it is being used.
Is Joomla Right for Your Website?
Given how versatile Joomla, and the number of Extensions available to give the content management system so many additional features, the answer is yes.
Keep in mind that Joomla is free, but there are some licensing restrictions, so be sure to read the fine print.
While most of the over 3,800 extensions are free to download and use, some extensions are not free, and individual extension support can vary from minimal to extremely good and everything else in between.
Lastly, because there are so many extensions, plan on spending a lot of time reviewing, downloading, installing and testing extensions.
Web Design Series- Dreamweaver 8 and Cs3: Should You Switch?
Dec 26th
Upgrade to Dreamweaver CS3? Or stick with Dreamweaver 8? This is a question that many web designers who own Dreamweaver 8 are asking themselves as they consider whether it would be worth their money or their Web Design company’s money to upgrade their design software. Since it is your job as a web designer to work with the software in question, the onus of deciding whether the new version will improve service and overall work quality or not. Many web designers are also wary of the fact that Macromedia has been acquired by Adobe and are wondering whether the new owners have improved or destroyed this piece of software. It is my opinion that there is no clear choice between the two. The choice you eventually make must be determined by what you require from your design software.
Web design feature #1: Adobe and Dreamweaver Together
Some web design companies may find the integration between the new Dreamweaver software and existing Adobe tools a good enough reason to purchase the Dreamweaver CS3. Images can easily be transferred from one software to another and some designers find this feature very attractive.
Web design feature #2: CSS Support Made Better
Designers will likely find that one of the best new features of Dreamweaver CS3 are the fresh and improved CSS layouts. The software code contains detailed commentaries related to how these layouts function so understanding how to use them is a relatively simple affair. There are currently 32 different layouts to choose from, in 1, 2, or 3-column designs, and in fixed or liquid design layouts. The starting position of the CSS is easily defined and subsequent movement is also simple and easy. Designers can simply style the tag directly into the HTML through a style attribute, then transfer it to their style sheet. In Dreamweaver CS3, “Convert Inline CSS to Rule” appears on a single right click of the tag and a custom class for that particular style or a full CSS selector is easily created.
Web design feature #3: Mobile Support
The incorporation of Adobe Device Central into Dreamweaver CS3 also makes designing pages for viewing on mobile platforms much easier than before. Although use of the mobile platform to view web pages has become increasingly popular, it was previously a rather challenging task to design pages that are compatible for viewing on both a mobile platform and a web browser one. Dreamweaver CS3 makes those challenges a thing of the past.
Web design feature #4: Ajax Implementation Now Made Possible
Adding Ajax widgets and effects to the web pages that you create is now possible through the incorporation of the Spry framework in to Dreamweaver CS3. A simple drag and drop operation will deposit them into your dataset. Transition effects such as shrinking, growing, highlighting and fading, integration of XML feed data and widgets for tables lists and forms are just some of the features of Spry that have been included in Dreamweaver CS3.
Web design feature #5: XLST Support
XLST support is a major feature of CS3 and both you and your design company will be delighted by the support included through the use of XML files as the database source. Viewing of the XML and integration into any HTML documents are made easy through XLST. Web designers who possess XML files of the same format can easily create a single template for them by using XLST.
Web Design feature #6: Support for Mac Intel Processors
CS3 is now also native to the Intel-based Macintosh platform, and load times have been significantly reduced. The company behind CS3 claims that, whereas Dreamweaver 8 previously required four minutes to load, CS3 now accomplishes the same feat in under one minute. However, these claims have yet to be verified by proper testing.
To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade
The question does not have an easy answer. Personally, I chose to upgrade and have not looked back since. The new CSS features, XLST support and Device Central are all wonderful new additions to the software. However, live databases and server side scripts are still difficult to use with Dreamweaver CS3 and this may discourage web design companies from purchasing the software. If, at the end of it all, you choose to upgrade, it is unlikely that you will regret the money spent.
Web Firms Should Use Appcelerator’s Titanium Mobile
Dec 20th
Web Programmer To Iphone Developer
At Cloudmanic Labs we have been playing around with iPhone development since the release of the Apple SDK. We all have many years of programing experience, computer science degrees, and an overall love of programing. However, our love is in scripting languages such as php or javascript. Objective-C is just not a fun language to program. We are web dudes!!! Overall, our conclusion was we are not going to write Objective-C code that we would be proud of and at the same time continue to maintain our web programing skill sets.
Don’t Feel Like Becoming An iPhone Doob
With the boom of the iPhone we saw a lot of web development firms drop everything and start programing iPhones. While we don’t blame them, the money is good, I think many of them made the switch way to quickly. We are seeing way too many poorly written iPhone apps and you can tell they were written by someone with a web programing background not an Objective-C background. We saw this issue early on and did not want that to be us, a company that jumped on the bandwagon way to quickly. So we started to looking at subcontractors to partner with to write our iPhone applications. At this point we have worked with a few and have not been very happy. All our applications interact with our web services. We need to hire a team that understands both sides. While we are sure there are many subcontractors out there that fit the bill, of the subcontractors we have hired there was a strong understanding of one side or the other (Objective-C Vs. Web Services). Frustrated, we started looking around for a solution that would allow us to deliver a rich and powerful iPhone app that interacted with our web services, without us losing our core knowledge base of web programming. We recently found a solution that we are really excited about…….
Drum Roll Please…….Appcelerator’s Titanium Mobile
A well funded start-up called Appcelerator has a product named Titanium Mobile. Titanium Mobile allows you to write mostly native iPhone applications using javascript libraries that any decent web programmer is already an expert at, such as jQuery. The good folks at Appcelerator have created a javascript API to create native iPhone UI elements like table views, buttons, switches, sliders, and more. They also provide a javascript API to interaction with the hardware such as; camera, gps, touch screen and more. With this framework you can develop rich and powerful iPhone applications that can be submitted to the Apple App Store only using javascript/css/html. We have rewritten some of our Objective-C applications using Titanium and the development process was twice as fast. It was faster for two reasons. One, we know javascript way better then Objective-C. Two, programing in Javascript is way faster then Objective-C anyway. Titanium Mobile is not for everyone. If we were writing a game or something I would not use Titanium. Titanium, in its current form, really nails down allowing a web app developer to create a mobile extension of their web application. If you are not doing anything ground breaking on the iPhone just building an application with normal native SDK controls Titanium will knock your socks off. As of this writing Titanium version 0.8 is days way from being released. The product has been in beta for about a year now and they will have a full public release when they get to version 1.0 (or so I understand). With the the release of 0.8 we believe they have plugged all the holes. In our eyes this product is ready for real production use.
Why Frameworks Should Be Required For Custom Web Application Development
Dec 16th
Think of the internet such as a block of houses in your neighborhood. Many of the houses in your neighborhood are built with different materials. Some houses are made of brick, wood, and mortar. Some are built of metal but when it really gets down to it, the best built house will always make it through the most inclement of weather.
Now think of building a house like a <a onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.bluewebdev.com”>custom web application development project</a>. Many developers in the business nowadays try to cut corners by building applications without the proper materials. Many sites are operating with straight PHP code that executes commands going down a page. Whats the problem with this style of coding? The problem is that a straight PHP file with executing commands poses many problems, for one lets go back to the idea of a house. If you were to build a house and instead of build rooms, combine everything into one large room without doors and walls, wouldn’t you feel cluttered and unable to locate certain items? The same logic applies to web development.
Frameworks are basically the building blocks to a web application. Just like with a house with rooms, frameworks operate with the same logic. That logic is organization. Frameworks were built so that your web application can easily be managed without having to sift through hundreds of lines of code just to debug issues. By utilizing the use of a framework you can now seperate all of your actions into seperate files, and you can organize your code so that if something breaks on your application and you need to debug the issue, you can easily find the code thats causing the issue and resolve the issue. As you can probably imagine, this concept of organization and reusable code will save you tons of hours in web applications development.
There are many different frameworks available to use. You can use cakephp, codeigniter, and many others to help. Here at Blue Web Development we primarily use cakephp just because of the amount of code thats already developed and available to be used quite readily. Cakephp also features a great templating engine as one of its primary core features, we suggest that you check out cakephp.
Now the million dollar question. How do you use a framework? If you are a beginner PHP developer or even an expert PHP developer we recommend that you use cakephp to start just because its probably the easiest to learn for users at all levels. Usually though a framework consists of the following structures:
Model – Think of a model as the small parts and engine of a car
Controller – Think of a controller as the steering wheel, radio buttons, temperature buttons in a car
View – Think of the view as what you would see through the windshield, through the speakers in the car, and feel through the vents
Now imagine that you are in your car right now, you want to listen to the radio so you click on the volume button in your car to turn the music up. You have just interacted with the controller, the clicking action that you sent into the radio, interacted with the radios internal parts and hit up the model, the model then sent back the music to be played louder through the view (which is the speakers).
Simple enough right? This kind of logic is what you will mostly find in a framework, you will find a system that will look for an action, take that action from the controller and invoke data and process that data through the model, and then take that data from the model and display it on the view (which is usually the web browser).
Now your probably asking? How do I send my action into a controller? When a developer first looks at cakephp or maybe even codeigniter you are probably trying to figure out how does it all work? Its actually quite easy, in most frameworks there is a component that has developed that is usually called “the router”. The router usually some code that basically asks two questions. Those two questions are:
What do you want to do? What action?
What are you sending me? What parameters?
Once these questions are answered successfully, the router will take your action, and your parameters and send it all into the controller for processing.
Here is why you should go with php for your next web project ?
Dec 13th
PHP/FI the original and first version was created by Rasmus Lerdorf way back in 1995. Over the span of 14 odd years and several evolutions it has become one of the most dominant programming languages for web development worldwide. Most of the open source web applications have embraced PHP as their language of choice.
Factors that make PHP so popular are several, some of them are:
Ease of learning: the programming language constructs are easy to understand and there is plenty of material available online Abundance of freely available quality libraries: several quality reusable libraries of code have been made available on the net by php enthusiasts, allowing you to reuse code effectively LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) hosting is cheap Availability of PHP based frameworks for rapid development (CakePHP) Ability to separate presentation layer from the business and data layer (Smarty Templates) Abundance of people carrying strong PHP development skillset
Some popular applications running on php are:
vBulletin, oscommerce, x-cart, pMachine, ez-Publish, gallery, phpBB, wordpress and php-nuke.
There have been several camps which have raised issues about PHP not being and enterprise grade software and not meant for high performance websites but all these claims have been baseless and biased views. Facebook.com is a good example of high traffic scalable site running on PHP.
Even though PHP can be used as a command line language, it’s primary usage and acceptance is as a web development language.
If you are looking at one programming language to pick you might want to go with PHP as your choice.
Recent Comments