Thread: PHP or PHP Framework? Mid Sized Long Term Project

So guys, I need some advice preferably from someone who actually works in the industry as a web developer.


I'm a novice at PHP, I can do alot but still have a lot to learn, ATM im completely self taught.



I am starting work on a personal project that I intend to start into a company. Its a multi-user SaaS built on one database. Within the first year i except about 50-100 clients. The project will probably be 30-50 PHP pages consisting of all the regular elements you would need, login, payment processing, client area, admin area, etc..

Now I started this in my spare time about a month ago in PHP, about 2 weeks in I discovered frameworks, so I tried to duplicate it in a framework but found its much harder to find specifics on a certain framework then finding the solutions although doable. This should not be an overly complicated project although it will need to be very secure as personal information will be stored.

Now my question is, Is a framework worth it or should i stick with straight PHP?

Hey,
the thing about Frameworks is that they can save you a lot of time because they already have many needed classes and functions, for example if you want to sanitize a string, they already have something built in. Problem is - you still have to learn from scratch the way to call those classes and the way to use the framework. ( a bit like learning a new programming language).

Personally i like to write everything from scratch, and just use frameworks for learning how to code properly.

Hey Seedstuff,

Do you know Object Oriented PHP and feel confident optimizing your own code ? You could really go both ways on this one, but I would strongly suggest that you either use a framework OR become very strict with yourself in terms of the code you write.

I say this because frameworks rigidly enforce where everything goes, generally in a MVC (Model, View, Controller) style format (CakePHP, CodeIgniter, etc).

Coding things "by yourself" does not enforce this structure, and this structure becomes very important when you start scaling your system to do more and more things. The last thing you want to happen is to end up with confusing, unstructured code, that takes longer to maintain then it does to write.

Also, if you are writing things like Admin/Client area's and response code for Payment processors (IPN - Instant Payment Notification from Paypal, for instance) you need to check things a number of times to ensure they are safe - No chance of XSS, or mysql injection attacks, or someone spoofing a cookie. And ALWAYS ensure any sensitive data is stored hashed (preferably with a salt) and transmitted over SSL.

So my answer is, yes Frameworks are worth the time, if nothing else to learn principles you can use in your own work, but, if you feel confident in your own abilities, there is no reason you cannot do it that way.

Yes and no. Frameworks are great, no questions, but they also come at a price, but also bring their own benefits.

Frameworks really help you develop things really fast especially if you don't already have your own codebase to work from.

One downside I found with frameworks is the server requirements is often higher. When you program something tightly and efficiently, you can push more from a server without a framework than you can with a framework, keeping your costs a little lower. But... if you're going to be able to charge a decent premium, then server costs may not be an issue for you. If that is the case, go with the frameworks. You'll be up and running faster and if it doesn't suit you down the track, you can always re-write after the money is coming in.