Best PHP framework for an experienced PHP developer?

Question

Okay, before I start this, I am well aware of how subjective this question is.

For my case, I'd like to define the 'best' for me as:

• Rapid development
• "Pretty" URLs
• Data validation
• Good knowledge base available
• Not impossible to integrate other PHP software with

This is a pretty generic definition, but all I'm looking for here is opinions.

Edited: Here's a better way to ask this question:

You have two weeks to create a full scale booking and scheduling system that accepts Google Checkout payments (via the API) and integrates with an open source message board software.

Which framework do you choose and why?

Answer 1

I've used CodeIgniter and have loved it, learning to use it is quite easy and there is a great community and Derek Allard's blog is a good place to check out. I'd recommend it.

Answer 2

I'd check out the Zend framework. I think it has everything you need.

Answer 3

I think you'll like CodeIgniter

Answer 4

Okay - I'm an unexperienced php developer .. but after doing a bit of research, I chose kohana. I think it fulfills most of your requirements.

Answer 5

Symfony.

It's awesome, especially how well it is documented and how easy to integrate things are.

Answer 6

CodeIgniter is definitely the most quick to start off. It's simple to use. Symphony is also great but has a greater learning curve.

If you want something more customizable and advanced you can check out php.MVC

Answer 7

Symfony! Go for it for its simplicity, documentation. Even Yahoo chose it to build delicious

Answer 8

Questions like this are always going to be answered with: Zend Framework, CakePHP, Symfony, CodeIgniter (Kohana). Those are the most popular PHP frameworks.

The real question is, which framework solves which problem the best? I have my own opinion (frequently Zend Framework fits the bill for what it's worth) but I really think you will have to take a look at each of them in order to see what works best for you.

Answer 9

I've personally use Zend Framework which has almost everything you mentioned.

It is quite easy to grasp if you are experienced in PHP, I joined a project which is using it and started creating production code in no time. As always, you will always have to have the framework documentation available.

I am not sure about the integration part though. It may be tricky because of the Zend routers, there might be an easy solution but I have no experience in that area.

Answer 10

There are huge benefits to using a framework. The initial learning curve is a worthwhile investment because of the enormous amounts of time you will save in the long run, and even in the not-so long run. I personally use and am a huge proponent of the Fuse PHP MVC Framework. Incredibly easy to get started with, but powerful enough to handle everything - granular user/group permissions, simple but robust form handling, advanced searching built right into the controller, and the list goes on. I work with both Fuse and Cake on a daily basis, and I often wish I could just convert the Cake projects to Fuse, but they're already very far along.

Answer 11

I'd use Seagull if I had 2 weeks to deliver. Although, that's from the perspective of a regular, so I'm not sure how long it would take you to familiarise yourself with the framework, but if you know other frameworks, you won't have a problem with this.

Answer 12

My vote goes to symfony.

Answer 13

Pretty much any of the full stack PHP frameworks have what you need (cakephp, symfony, zend). Zend might be the right choice for the job because it has functions for many web services like google payments (not sure). The framework I am most comfortable with is cakephp, mostly because that is what I learned first and it seemed to fit my needs and programming style. It felt just right to me. I've tried basic demos with others but they just didn't really feel right to me. If it were me I would ultimately go with CakePHP.

Answer 14

I used CakePHP with good results

Answer 15

I use lion framework

Answer 16

Have a look at yii. The benchmarks look impressive. Haven't tried it myself, though.

Answer 17

I would suggest Zend Framework. When the time allotment you have, Zend Framework components will surely help; for example see Zend_Gdata http://framework.zend.com/manual/en/zend.gdata.html

Answer 18

Yii is great indeed - in one week I managed to make a basic cms with logins, admin side, i18n, message translations to database, menu tree (both admin and public side). Now working on making support for modules that could easyly be installed.

Answer 19

Just to explain what I'm use for more than 6 years. I have my own PHP framework (not open source) based on hybrid object and scripting engine mostly for using in back-end / admin part of site.

Footprint is very small about 5-10 scripts (<100Kb). It is MySQL only. Speed is extremely fast as they use only several object and scripts in process of page creation. This is archived via semi "compiled" (created) php script.

Its like phpMyadmin to manage table data with added functionality to customize data browse and edit forms. With additional single _creator / configuration script I'm able to produce ready-to-run PHP script (most of them are 1-3Kb, smaller than cluster size on HD :) ) for this framework configured against relational database model (created with WorkBenchSE). Created script can be additionally twicked/hacked via many available options for any required purpose. Its lack many of fancy function which mentioned frameworks above have, but I never see more customizable and useful engine for ME :). For example its uses everything which host system can offer via system calls and nasty evals for the most complicated logic. This PHP framework express all my experience and skill in programming (almost 20 years!) and so, it is best for me (and clients like it also!).

Answer 20

It should also be easy to use most of the Zend Framework components within another framework if needed. I've used Zend_GData and Zend_Search_Lucene components with CakePHP for example.

Answer 21

You may try yiiframework. Also I like cakephp, symfony is harder to learn

Answer 22

I have been working on a framework called the RDS Framework. It is the offspring of a lor of websites I made in PHP. With every website I made the system turned into a whole framework.

You can download it and give it a try, it is nicely structures and it is focused on web-development. It has some special features and structuring that is not available in some other frameworks.

There are also some extensions you can download so you can make the framework bigger to your needs.

There are also some video tutoials and there is a documentation to get you started.

The nice thing I think is that it uses normal PHP, and you can change everything in the code. It also uses full SQL queries so you have full control over your whole application.