As promised, orchid comes with real flexibility which lets you design your application in less time. [...] In this installment, we will learn how to achieve maximum speed and benefit by using the built-in model library of orchid with a toppings of the active record library.

He shows how to connect to the database backend through the framework (along with some dos and don'ts) and how to pull this connection into the Model functionality. His example inserts information into a "comics" table and shows how to pull it back out (with a call to the find() method).

Orchid is a small framework with bare necessities to kick start developing killer php web applications. this framework is not flooded with unnecessary features and libraries. it only contains the essential helpers and libraries to boost up your development, not slowing it down. orchid features a very short learning curve, which will keep you trouble free.

He documents the step he followed - downloading the latest release (from the svn repository), making a first controller and adding a view to make his first "hello world" application.