Best PHP framework for a newbie

Question

I am a newbie in php. Considering this, which framework do u think is going to be the bestfor me?

What other knowledges, rather than php should I have to use them?

I have been hearing a lot about Zend and Codelgniter... What;s the major difference between them? Which one is best for e-commerce applications?

Answer 1

If you want a simple framework with not too steep learning curve, I suggest looking into CodeIgniter. It's fairly easy to use, has nice, easy-to-follow docs, and is generally pretty simple compared to some other alternatives like Zend Framework.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I never used codeigniter, but i can confirm that Symfony is an easy to use and mighty php MVC framework.

Answer 4

CodeIngiter, good, but is php 4 and 5 so has quirks and limitations.

Kohana is a CI clone for php 5 and has similar ease.

Symfony is excellent but has a lot of work that needs to be done at the command line. if you are unhappy with the CLI then don't.

the other point is Full Stack - i.e. Symfony, does everything for you and includes and ORM or Glue - i.e. CI/Kohana which will let you ignore elements such as say the Model and do simple DB connections

ZEND is a Glue framework and now has CLI tools but they don't have to be used it is perhaps a bit looser than CI and perhaps a bit more complicated to get ones head round

All the three frameworks mentioned have very good documentation, Get Started Guides/Tutorials and help forums. There are more published books on Zend and Symfony with the likes of O'Reilly and Manning then CI/Kohana but the CI/Kohana help is excellent with examples.

Answer 5

If you are new to programming in general, any framework at all might be too overwhelming for a start.

The only thing I can think of could be suitable is Frank, a php clone of Sinatra (a ruby framework). http://github.com/brucespang/Frank.php It's small, so you could possibly understand it within a reasonable time. On the other hand it doesn't do much for you.

If you have some programming experience, CakePHP might work for you. It gives you a lot of functionality "for free", and it fairly straight-forward to code for. I like how the models work with the database definition and a simple php-file with a few properties.

If you need to build something resembling a CMS, Joomla is great. It has a lot of plugins ready to use and build upon, so you can focus on building the specific functionality that makes your site unique. Coding for it is a bit involved, though. Lots of files in different places, and tedious HTML code for all forms, etc.

Answer 6

I strongly suggest that you give PHP a go first before using a framework for it. Doing this will help you understand the framework more and give you knowledge of the PHP world. Try Tizag.com for simple but effective tutorials.