What PHP Framework do you think is best for application development?

cakePHP

have you tried yii, what do you think about it

cakePHP yuck i hate the convention seriously, as for the best i would have said Zend but its complicated so i'll say Yii

^when i see comments like this i know we have hit front-page, so its understandable

@Timileyin i will explain the frameworks ave used and why they are cool

Zend Framework
This is a beast, its got all the classes you will ever need, alot of tools,helpers you name it and has a very good superb design pattern, however, it has an issue you will spend more time understanding the framework than actually working with it, some problem took me days to fix and the documentation has no real-case example also no facility to create a module that is reusable in any sane way, also it loads too many files you don't need which is just criminal. but the Zend-Layout is superb more superior than Yii, like the concept of bootstrapping.
Yii
Yii is just simply easy to learn coming from Zend, Yii is just easy to use and best part ,Yii is very flexible, it lazy-loads meaning a class is loaded when it is instantiated, and best part they created ways to create reusable components via Widgets, portlet,components,behaviors its just simple to use and a quick learning curve the down part i have is that it is tied to jQuery which i'm not a fan of, but like i said its really easier to use for other jsframeworks,the Gii generator is superb, the killer of Yii is the Form validation yii can give you mad validations with little coding just like CakePHP except in cakePHP's instance it determines your element depending on ur table,
Zend Framework 2
A bit like Zend Framework 1 but its not even complete but i practice with it for future sake, its not bad its got the Modular Pattern meaning you can create your logic in Module, and also Event Manager, those of us who use JavaScript will like this, you simply register to an event and get the class and the parameter from the event dispatched, and also has Dependency Injection its injects certain classes via method and loads them into your App, there are so many frameworks out there, but i can't learn them all, cuz that's not wise, just pick the one that suits you, i know some pple who can create mad apps in cake. so its up to you but my advise look at CakePHP/Yii

try codeigniter was simpler and easier for me, i tried YII, i dont like it(my opinion oh), zend(out of thee question forr me), why not spend a day try out these frameworks and pick the one you find easier to install and work with

which one of this frameworks can i use and not use there models and layout structure.. just want to plug it into a currently built application and use some functions

Cake is the one I've heard of.

I used to like cake so much so that i got my own fork to support auto Completion in the best PHP IDE ever PHPStorm (https://github.com/delomos/cakephpStorm) but that's 1/4 the story. I careless for Cake these days.

@pc_guru has correctly answered but by your follow up question is seems you really shouldn't be worrying about frameworks. You should learn the basics first.

Timileyin: which one of this frameworks can i use and not use there models and layout structure.. just want to plug it into a currently built application and use some functions

None. None, of them can you not use their structure, it's what defines it as a framework. They set the structure for you to build on. If you have a pre-built app AND you want to adopt it to framework, you have these options:
1. Port you legacy code to the frameworks methodology
OR
2. Look at how the framework structures it's stuff and clean up your code to emulate the frameworks paradigm
OR
3. Trash you stuff and resolve the problem with a framework.

Certainly, none will be easy.

Most frameworks use MVC design pattern and some (notably Yii) pair that with ActiveRecord or ORM. And while we're naming names, they all often implement Singleton and static instances, if you don't understand any of the previous sentence, which is the best framework is the least of your worries, forget them for now, learn the basics, I'm probably repeating myself.

Now that we're all on the same page, I'd mention two exceptional frameworks and why I like one over the other:

Yii (http:///IPbHON) : It's a great framework if you like code generation, I don't. Yii has a lot built in, it's fast (they say). It (almost) forces you to model you data, then work forward from there, some think that's flexibility, not me, I don't like that Yii::app()->thing. Very powerful helpers and ActiveRecord is sweet.

Kohana (http:///IZwHr6) : this is that Uncle we all love to hate, he pulls our ears and smacks us, but his stories are irresistible and always interesting. That is Kohana for you. You have to know you PHP and Kohana opens a new door to you, if you like $me = new Model(), or you're a Model::factory('me'), it's all you, I like that everything is staticy -- sure, no fancy Gii or Zii, no code generation, or command line magic, roll up your sleeves and do your work. It's a delight. Oh, and very well documented.

I have to start considering more sophisticated IDEs too. Man, I have been hard-coding with Notepad++ all this years

K

I think the question here should be rephrased "Symfony vs Zend, which is better?" because really all the above mentioned PHP frameworks are trying to do exactly what these 2 PHP frameworks do best.

In terms of the 2 frameworks, I would have to give it to Symfony (especially version 2.0) as it is what I will call a fully mature PHP framework with all the features you need from a framework plus with Symfony you can develop and get your app to production at lightening speed ( which is really one of the main reasons why developers use PHP frameworks over straight PHP coding ). On the other hand Zend is also good but not a fully mature framework, it feels more like just a collection of classes/libraries rather than a full framework, though it gives you a lot of flexibility as to how you structure things. It doesn't allow you to develop at lightening speed like Symfony due to many configurations and set ups here and there that is needed. Documentation is very thin on the ground unlike Symfony.

For me Symfony 2.0 wins the day! http://symfony.com/

magnumx: @timi
u don run comot for coldfusion ?

My Brother, i am flexible ooo, anything goes, i cant be a professional in just one coldfusion. So jobs still requests php

Wish i can get into this, has never used a framework. Never really understands what those does. Though yes, i have the basic idea of it being bunch of classes and functions commonly used and therefore makes it faster to develop and app. Also, stupid semantics stuffs, MVC and co., doesnt really get it. So, i think i better research on those

Timileyin: which one of this frameworks can i use and not use there models and layout structure.. just want to plug it into a currently built application and use some functions

I dont have the link here, but there are ways you can plug in the Codeigniter classes into your application even if you are not running your whole application on codeigniter. Codeigniter helper classes are simply normal PHP functions and can be copied and pasted OR included verbatim in your application. its the plugins and library functions that might be a little more involved.

Zend modules are also full fledged PHP classes and can be dropped into your project by copying the appropriate files. in fact for a recent side project, Codeigniter was used for the main project while Zend was brought in to provide the heavy machinery (Roles and Zend Lucene).

Just google for "using codeigniter libraries in php project" or check on stackoverflow.

codeIgniter, you're sure of meeting up with deadline

Timileyin: which one of this frameworks can i use and not use there models and layout structure.. just want to plug it into a currently built application and use some functions

You are looking for codeigniter

codeIgniter or cakePHP, I don't know which one, I used both, all good.

I will go with CodeIgniter but if you are looking for Job it's Zend all the way!
if you know Zend you can never be out of Job. As a junior level programmer, you earn 26,000pounds/ year.

what of f3(fat free framework) who used it?

Commo guyz have you seen FUELPHP. It rocks fuelphp.com.

Yii is also nice

pc guru: @Timileyin i will explain the frameworks ave used and why they are cool
... Yii is very flexible, it lazy-loads meaning a class is loaded when it is instantiated, ...

'lazy-loads' means a class is instantiated when it is called.

anyhow, have used cakePHP extensively, used zend some, played around with yii and symfony ... will still stick with cake.. yii is very fast though, doesnt come with much overhead other framework comes with.

There is no such thing as "BEST PHP FRAMEWORK FOR APP DEVELOPMENT".

One framework might serve best for a given app, while another framework for another app.

Having said that, here is my advice:

1. Start with a framework that is easy to learn (my opinion: CODEIGNITER http://codeigniter.com - Great documentation, Easy to Learn, Active forum)

2. When you have done a few projects on codeigniter, and you are comfortable with it, Learn Another Framework. Don't be the guy that says "I need to do it all on one Framework".

3. Create your own Framework (Lol)


Regards

paulo882: I think the question here should be rephrased "Symfony vs Zend, which is better?"

I am not a php dev but I was getting quite concerned that no one was mentioning symfony2 till I saw your post. I tried php/symfony2 a couple of weekends ago and got the feeling that symfony2 is an awesome framework to work with but felt daunted by ::, ; and => coming from a python/vb.net/java background.

Timileyin: which one of this frameworks can i use and not use there models and layout structure.. just want to plug it into a currently built application and use some functions

to the best of my very limited knowledge of php frameworks i believe symfony2 is very loosely coupled and you can pick exactly what you wish to user and you are not tired to any particular directory layout.

The moment i saw yii and d fact dat sum1 said "its tied to jquery" i ,cuz am a jquery socerer,self trained,and although i find wrkin wit framwrks borin,am willin to tryout dis "yii" dude,hpe its wrth it...

CodeIgniter... Rocks. You will never walk alone. awesome support