I will start this blog entry by saying I like Zend Framework. I really do. However, the part of ZF I don’t use is the MVC implementation. No, it’s not bad. Actually it’s a good implementation that is the product of a lot of hard work by Zenders and non-Zenders alike. I use bits and pieces of ZF in my PHP projects and, admittedly, Zend’s MVC implementation never made the cut. Why?
I started using my first MVC implementation, Phrame, back around 2002 long before ZF. I was quickly turned off by Phrame’s Stuts-ish familiarity (no, I don’t hate on Struts either). The crux of my problem was the need to edit a bunch of files just to implement one page in my web application. So started MVCnPHP. That need to itch a scratch produced an MVC implementation that made it’s way into my 9-to-5. Over the next 7 years or so I did attempt to release MVCnPHP into the wild but never really polished it off. Today I’m happy to announce that has changed.
Before I get into MVCnPHP let me circle back around to ZF. Why didn’t I adopt it’s MVC implementation when it was released? I considered it but the issue simply came down to my biased view of the design differences. In fact, I was motivated to release MVCnPHP because of a project I recently inherited that uses the Zend MVC implementation. The biggest difference between the ZF MVC implementation and MVCnPHP is MVCnPHP is meant to allow you to isolate views and commands into their own files and simply drop them into a directory then having your controller immediately aware of them. I admit this quality of MVCnPHP isn’t unique in the world of MVC implementations but this whole experience motivated me to really start working on polishing the code and documenting how to use it. Today I’m happy to announce my first release of those efforts.
So to cut the fluff, here’s a few things to get you started on MVCnPHP:
- I know learning a new MVC implementation may appear time so to help you evaluate it you can see it in action with this sample application that not only excersizes most the features of MVCnPHP, it gives you quick access to the code behind the scenes.
- After that why not download MVCnPHP. We have versions that support PHP 5.2.x and well as a release that support PHP 5.3 namespaces.
- Once installed all you need to do use read the MVCnPHP User Guide. The guide is still a work in progress but it does cover most of what you need to get started.
I can barely contain my personal excitement for getting this out. MVCnPHP represents a library that brings the benefits of a model-view-controller implementation in a package that is small, yet packed full of features with no limits for being extended. I hope you all agree.