What's the best WP theme framework ...

...that uses the child theme approach and does not require hard coding?
Which one are you using, and why?

I am about to embark on using Wordpress from now on and my main findings over the last few weeks are as follows:

-I don't want to limited by 'regular' Wordpress Themes that do not allow design and style customization.

-Even those themes that do allow some modifications (i.e. Woothemes Canvas) have their limitations

EDIT: sorry...I took longer than expected to post this...it is 4am here now and I need to go and sleep for a couple of hours...so please don't be mad at me for checking back in the morning...

-Using instead a Theme framework that acts as the parent theme and works in conjunction with child themes appears to be a much better concept, even though it took me a while to understand what that means. It seems a better approach mainly because the core functionality lies in the parent theme while the design and style modifications are applied on the child theme. This makes frequent upgrades of the framework much easier as it does not put your work at risk. (if you haven't heard of this concept, you can also check out this article or just google it).

-However, it seems while most solutions may have option panels and a nice UI, they still seem to require some hard coding (CSS and PHP) for simple things where you'd think that this could be automated. THESIS comes to mind (that many appear to be using) - I checked out Brian Clark's video on their main site and while the initial modifications appeared really simple, at some point things needed manual coding in the functions.php file, etc.

While I understand HTML, which is useful for adding/tweaking things every once in a while, I am really not inclined to tap into a programming language for the sake of making some of these simple changes (i.e. in the Thesis video, Brian even entered manual codes for adding link hover functions and repositioning the nav menu from under the headline to above the headline.
This to me is not what I want in designing my own websites easily and quickly (and with FUN!) and getting on with all there is to Internet Marketing.

Some I came across:

Themehybrid - using child theme concept also, but I am not sure if creating or further customizing child themes require coding, or not

Builder by iTheme - using child themes, appears very user friendly with graphical user interface and option panels and no hard coding required as far as I understand. They also have a preview window of some sort, once you have your basic layout. However, with them I don't like the fact that you only get 1 year free upgrade and support and then need to pay full price again if you want another year's worth of upgrades and support.

Frugeltheme - not using child theme concept but skins (similar but not the same)

Headway - not sure actually if they use child themes but they are pretty much wysiwyg via a Visual Layout Editor. While I think it is a good idea to have a preview window (as compared to having to save and refresh the live site after each change), I am not sure if I like their editor.


The bottomline for me is:

-I want as much customization as possible
-Most if not all of the modifications should be able to be made using option panels and no coding
-The framework (acting as parent theme) should be stable, continuously maintained, updated/upgraded in line with general developments (WP etc)

From what I have seen so far, Frugaltheme actually appeals to me most, even when they do not use child themes in the strictest sense.

I know there are many other theme frameworks out there, some free and some to buy....so which one did you pick and why?


EDIT: pls don't be mad at me...but I need to have a nap now...it's 4am here..! Creating this post took me longer than expected