It depends what you want to do. I've heard zend framework is pretty good for larger projects.

However, after programming in PHP for 10 years I still think frameworks carry too much overhead for small projects... if you are only going to do sites that are a few small scripts I really don't think it is worth your time.

Chances are 10 projects you work on, 90% will not go anywhere. I think it's better to focus on getting something quick out there, see if it works. Then build it up properly.

heya, thanks for the reply, yeah the plan is to use the framework in relation to larger scale projects, and for smaller projects just stick to what I know. I also had doubts about the overheads with certain frameworks.

Codeigniter ALL THE WAY! It's not bloated, and once you've learned it you, basically know ruby on rails way of working. Just not the exact syntax.. Zend is BLOATED, also CI can run zend modules so if there is something CI doesn't do that Zend does you can just copy paste code without to much issue. Also the guy who made PHP said IF he had to use a framework he would use CI over all the others not to long ago. There are quite a few comparisons out there of zend, cake, symphony, etc.. And last time I looked CI was ranked higher than any of the others for speed, and usability. One other good think about CI is you don't have to have shell access.

-Brad

smarty is not a framework, and neither is wordpress....

thanks for the advice everybody, I've come across some decent tutorials and things for code ignitor, doesn't look overly difficult to learn so I'm gonna go for that :-)

The codeigniter forum's are GREAT! and for some basic tutorials if you're willing to pay a little checkout binarycake.com As upset as I am at those two guys, they did put some decent tutorials together. Do not pay for any extra than what you see on the site, because I'm fairly sure its a dead project, since its been about 6 months since they did anything with it.

I've not had a good experience with frameworks. I never seem to have the time to learn them to be productive fast enough, then there always seems to be some simple thing I need to accomplish but the framework gets in the way. I'm sure if I was more familiar with it it would be easy. I know wordpress is not a framework, but I've found I can accomplish a lot in a very short amount of time. It's easy, has lots of plug-ins that can easily be tweaked if I need to, and I actually enjoy using it. I spend less time banging my head against the wall. Clients like the admin interface, too. I know this doesn't really answer the original question, it's just been my experience.

I've had a similar experience as ChadWyatt. I've put in hours/weeks trying to get into frameworks... my most serious attempt was with Zend. Went through lots of tutorials, and generally ended up frustrated. Everything seemed to me like walking the long way around to go a short distance.

After trying Zend, and checking into other frameworks to see if they were any more helpful, I've ended up back where I started... with my own "ready-to-assemble" collection of code that I've deployed on many sites. The critical point is that I know and understand the system.

In the long run, you're better off bending Wordpress (or something) to your will than wasting time learning a framework. Fix the problems, if any, after the site is successful.

-Ryan

I highly recommend using codeigniter, I have been using it for a few large projects that I have been working on recently and I have been very impressed by it. It has a huge community that is willing to help you with any problems you may have and it is very easy to add your own classes into it.

Good luck!