What's the PHP framework equivalent of jQuery?

Question

jQuery made javascript so easy for me, I was able to get up and running in a couple of hours doing most tasks.

Which PHP framework has similar ease of use and rapid development/write less ability? Or am I stuck basically learning a new language no matter what framework I decide on?

Edit: Just to clarify, I know PHP and Javascript fairly well, I'm just trying to figure out a simpler way to rapidly develop websites. Wife an I are expecting, so I'm hitting up Craigslist trying to do any side job I can get for extra income. Some jobs have very lofty desires, with small budgets. Just looking for a way to still do these jobs, without burning a ton of time.

TL;DR: I need $

Answer 1

When I looked at PHP frameworks I found CodeIgniter gets you productive quickly.

Excellent Documentation too.

Answer 2

I use cakephp, which is pretty similar to ci..

There are some helpful tools for creating and retrieving data from forms, database storage and friendly urls.

But either way, you'll have to learn php. But you can definitely gain some help from the frameworks.

Answer 3

I was looking for the exact same thing and found a plethora of PHP frameworks. I'll tell you right now -- I did not find anything close to the goodness that is jQuery.

I ended up choosing Kohana, which I consider a mistake. CodeIgniter would have been a better decision, but I still feel that you're adding a lot of extra data.

For instance, jQuery adds on a lot of extra functionality to anything you're doing right now, it doesn't demand you fit certain specifications. It gives you extra functionality, not restricting anything. PHP Frameworks, from my experience, make you fit certain things (such as MVC requirements), which can be both good and bad, but performance-wise you will have a decrease (I have not seen any PHP Framework that can come close to the performance I get out of my own programming).

I've heard as well that CodeIgniter has EXCELLENT documentation, where as Kohana, does not. I would go so far as saying it has TERRIBLE documentation. Kohana is made for PHP5 so I thought it would have more of a performance increase over CodeIgniter (which has functions made for both PHP4 AND PHP5) and saw many reviews of people who had moved from CodeIgniter to Kohana, and they said Kohana was better. I disagree, they also said to learn CodeIgniter first, then move (because of its good documentation, and it's very similar).

I ended up making my own framework which is much closer (in my mind, at least) to jQuery. I can send this to you if you like, just realize that it is in no-where near a "production" level. It is more based on the idea that it gives you tons random helpful functions and tools than on putting your coding in another structure. I combine it with a WordPress similar system, the routing and so on -- but that is separate. This is all in one folder and you include one file.

I look forward to seeing the other responses.

Answer 4

Regardless of whether you're using a framework or not, you are going to have to get at least a rudimentary understanding of PHP to be able to use.

That said - there isn't really a direct equivalent to jQuery, since the problems jQuery solves aren't the same as the problems needed to be solved by PHP frameworks.

There are lots of frameworks out there of various degrees - here's a selection:

• Symfony - a 'basic' framework - it has helper functions to make ajax interaction easier, and currently integrates jQuery for client-side scripting.
• Cake - I haven't used it myself - but it's about the same as Symfony, I think
• Drupal - less of a PHP framework, and more of a content framework that runs on PHP

As I said - you will still need to know PHP to use any of these...

Answer 5

I love Nette framework. There is only one reason why you couldn't like it and it's the small English-spoken community.

Answer 6

Zend Framework consists of loosely coupled components as does jQuery. This means you don't have to use the whole framework for your project. You can just pick up Zend_Layout to create layouts e.g.

Another interesting thing to mention is that Zend Framework supports various web services api's like flickr, youtube, ...

Answer 7

CODEIGNITER!!! Trust me. It's ALL about the documentation with a framework. I didn't know ANY PHP (used classic ASP) and I jumped into CodeIgniter and PHP/MySQL all at the same time. I've used it since 2006 and haven't looked back.

The forum's are extra awesome and you'll always get fast answers if you word your questions right.

Highly recommended!