LDS PHP Framework

[cognifloyd]

This is in reference to https://tech.lds.org/wiki/LDS_PHP_Framework

Is this framework going to be/is it being made from scratch? I would like to see the use of something that is already being actively developed so that the church doesn't have to maintain quite so much.

One possible project that could save some effort is flow3. (See http://flow3.typo3.org/ ) It's an Open Source PHP MVC Framework upon which you can build just about anything. According to http://flow3.typo3.org/about/comparison/ it is, or will quickly become, very similar in feature set to SPRING, which I believe the church uses in it's Java stack.

As this is designed for enterprise application some features, like security reviews/updates, making sure extensions/packages are compatible, and enterprise user control, are high priority and included from the start. There's even an Eclipse Framework to help with creating new extensions for it. (See http://www.dev3.org/ )

If we used that, then the only thing that would need to be maintained would be a package (or set of packages) that helps it interface with other church systems (eg LDSAccount integration, and packages for interfacing with other APIs)

Another good php framework for smaller applications is RADICORE: http://www.radicore.org/

What else is being considered? What has already been done? Am I completely missing the point for this framework?

Thanks,
Jacob

[silid]

My understanding is that it is not really a framework that is required but a way of rapidly deploying new websites for smaller audiences that can be self contained and not as complicated as the larger sites that will be built on the Java stack.

I strongly recommend Drupal (http://drupal.org).

Drupal allows for multiple sites to run from the same codebase.
Drupal allows for external auth.
Drupal allows for installation profiles that means modules/themes/custom settings can be enabled from install.
Drupal has a well documented API which makes adding functionality relatively easy.

I have used PHP Cake and Joomla for custom applications but I use Drupal for almost everything now on.

The UK EFY website http://www.efy.org.uk is built on Drupal.

[kennethjorgensen]

I have used PHP Cake and Joomla for custom applications but I use Drupal for almost everything now on.

The UK EFY website www.efy.org.uk is built on Drupal.

Very interesting. Do you know if much had to be custom developed for the registration process?

[silid]

Most of it used existing available modules with just configuration required.

The part that generated the consent forms and eTickets and will be used at the EFY sessions for checking in the youth was written specifically for it.

[silid]

whitehouse.gov which also uses drupal have recently released some of their custom modules back to the community.

See: http://www.whitehouse.gov/tech

[cognifloyd]

Well, this response is only about a year later... lol

The PHP Stack (as it's called now) has an svn repo now. Currently it only does things with with LDSAccount and MLUServices, plus a quick example on using them.

I think it would be cool to have LDSTech IDE have a view optimized for PHP.

If anyone does want a framework to start with, then opinions will fly left and right as to which should be "standard". Personally, I like Flow3 because of the AOP approach to things like logging and security. Security is "built-in" from the get go. Whether you explicitly lock something down or not, the security aspect can still take care of ACL-like things. Plus, they're building a package repository that helps to keep each of the components/modules up to date (even though Flow3 is in alpha, the Flow3 repository is at least the third repository like this that they have built, so they know what they're doing). I love the fact that when you go to add a package (ie extension or plugin) you don't have to touch the core files and the repository handles dependency resolution for you. The best way to describe extensions for a variety of other php apps I've looked at is: spaghetti code. They should be releasing the first beta for their next release. Then again, as I said before, I know that opinions in the PHP world are almost as common as blades of grass are in a well-kept lawn... lol.

Flow3 aside, I still think it would be good to provide something (a script maybe?) that quickly configures LDSTech IDE for PHP development. If people choose to use something else (like say, a text editor) that's fine. Java devs aren't required to use LDSTech IDE either.

Hmm. Here's another thought - perhaps a brief list of potential frameworks could be listed in the wiki, and then each project can decide whether they want to use those or roll their own. It'd be a starting point - a place to pause for thought.

Well I think that covers my rambling thoughts,
Jacob Floyd