On the Zend Developer Zone today, there's this new look at extending the popular CakePHP framework with three different options - helpers, components, and plug-ins.

They describe each of these items:

• Helpers - functions/functionality to help out in the views
• Components - extra building blocks in controllers
• Plug-ins - little "applications" to add instant functionality to a site

For each, they include a more complete definition, how they fit in with the overall "Cakeness" of an application and even a bit of code to explain things. Daniel also includes a few helpful links to get aspiring coders a head start.