Beginning Zend Framework

One of the consequences of the huge popularity of Zend Framework is that everyone who is using PHP in one way or another has at least thought about using it (because it all sounds so good and, possibly, easy).

But different people need different approaches to start developing with Zend Framework. And the publishing companies that published the first books about Zend Framework (and apparently also the second wave of books) tend to forget about some groups of users. A little summary (in no way meant to offend):

Developers with a different background (another programming language)

Depending on the background, migration will not be that hard. I can imagine a .NET or Java developer easily gets the principles of a framework (and hopefully also understands OO programming). Ruby or Python will be even easier (but why on earth would they migrate?).

The average PHP developer (not already using Zend Framework of course)

If the Zend Framework manual is not sufficient for this group, there certainly are a lot of books available that eliminate all barriers. Of course look for the most recent books, since a lot of versions have been announced the last 2 years and, to be honest, some of the early books were published in a hurry to benefit from being among the first.

Dreamweaver users (often called “webdesigners“)

Yes, this group is also (willingly or unwillingly) pushed to, at least, have a look at Zend Framework. And to be honest, at the moment, I wouldn’t know how they can prevent themselves from creating something that isn’t maintainable in the years to come.
Zend Framework (or any other framework in this case) promises a lot of good things (which may lack in the current PHP snippets, Smarty templates, open source CMS,… now being used). Starting with the manual certainly is tricky. Getting a thorough grip of PHP/OO concepts may sound boring, but you need it.
As a suggestion: don’t set too high expectations and take your time. It may be useful to force yourself to get a PHP certification. Not because you need it, but because it forces you to learn/refresh the PHP basics.

Also: be honest to yourself. If you notice OO concepts don’t interest you, think about it and maybe try something else. Another lightweight framework like CodeIgniter (there is no such thing as “the best framework”) or no PHP development at all may better suit you. No one has ever been happy forcing themselves in a position doing something they don’t like to do!

Dummies

Belonging to this group is no disadvantage. Ok, you don’t have the experience of someone who has been using PHP since before the dot-com bubble burst, but at least you acknowledge this. Starting from scratch (and knowing it) can eliminate a lot of barriers.
Start by learning PHP and fairly early start with a decent PHP OO book and, again, take your time. In my opinion you don’t have to finish 5 courses and 3 books to start with Zend Framework. When learning Zend Framework (e.g. from the manual) you’ll also learn OO principles and best practices, but you need a basic knowledge first.
Also don’t expect that you can add new Zend Framework components on day 2, it will take time.

Did I forget about someone? I certainly hope this post can help as a starting point for new Zend Framework developers (or people thinking about becoming one).

Tags: php, zend framework

This entry was posted on December 29th, 2009 and is filed under Development, Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or Trackback from your own site.