which framework for this project?

Question

I have a new PHP project coming up and I want to use a framework. I'm a little intimidated because I don't yet understand the workflow of using a framework, and what I'll need to do differently to get my work done. I'm also concerned about painting myself into a corner if a framework can't do what we need -- for instance in another project, we had reports that were pdfs generating from complex aggregating queries. Could the framework handle everything I would need it to, or would I have to break out of it at some point, or write a module for it? I'm not aware of a PHP framework that has a 'Crystal Reports' module ;)

In the past my site design has been basically that each page is mostly a form that submits to the database, and displays some results from the database afterwards. It's basically a user-friendly database interface; there's not much in the way of plain pages that don't originate from database data. There is a basic menu that lets the user navigate the site.

The project coming up is an employee handbook/manual project. The person authoring the handbook will select pre-existing chapter titles ( think categories ) and paragraphs that go under that title, and write their own. The employee will be able to read the handbook assembled for their position, take a quiz ( which comes from the paragraphs ), and print the manual, which is a pdf of the chapter/paragraph data. All data is stored in the database. Is there a framework that is more geared for this type of application, or would any good one do?

( Looking at the MVC paradigm, the model here would be the database structure, the view is the code that generate the pages, and the controller is code that parses input, puts it in the database, and decides what to show the user as a result? )

Answer 1

I think using a lightweight framework would get rid of most of your worries, as they are simpler, and easy to get them to do whatever you want. I would recommend CodeIgniter

It's an MVC framework, and your guess how MVC works is close to correct. The Model handles ALL interactions with the database, you basic CRUD operations. The view is indeed what generates the pages. The controller is there to handle communication between the models and the views.

So in your site: the view is a form, when it is submitted, the controller catches this data, and passes it to the model, usually via a create() or update() function. The controller can then call a different view for the submission successful page.

Answer 2

You can go for cake PHP, It's a small project and it will be quick. I wouldn't use Zend or any other heavy framework for that kind of project.

Try to choose one with a good documentation (Short an precise)

I don't think php frameworks are the best for small mvc projects. I'd rather use RoR, Django or Play.

Answer 3

Normally you start to use a framework because you are going to use it in many projects, and you adopt the framework because it helps you in writing less code. You don't normally use a framework because you can then report you are using it.

There is difference between a framework, and a CMS system (some of the replies seem to make confusion between the two). A framework is a collection of libraries that help developing and glue together the different components of a software project; you normally speak of framework talking of Zend, .NET, Synfony, etc. It is also true that the term is sometimes used as a buzzword, but when you ask for a PHP framework the word makes me immediately think of Zend.