From CatsWhoCode.com there's a new tutorial looking at some of the basics of using CouchDB with PHP (the popular NoSQL database). They don't cover the install of CouchDB, so you'll need to have that up and running to follow along.

Have you ever dreamt about a powerful database that you can access easily, without using the SQL language? That what Apache CouchDB is all about. In this tutorial, I'm going to show you how to get started with this document-riented database and how you can use it with PHP.

They briefly cover what CouchDB (and NoSQL databases) are and how their records are stored - document based rather than row/column based like standard RDBMS. They use the PHPillow library to connect to their database and include the code to do an insert and pull that same data back out.

If you're new to the world of Drupal and want to get started quickly, consider reading up on these ten tips from Chris Free for a "Drupal 101" on using the highly popular content management system.

You often hear people say that the learning curve for Drupal is steep. They aren't kidding - it is. I remember when I first started Drupaling, I had so many questions [...] diving in to Drupal can be a bit daunting. In an effort to help remedy this, I've thrown together some quick-tips to steer all you beginners in the right direction.

The tips cover simple reminders like "don't forget to ask for help" or "Google it" and more detailed things like a list of basic modules it's usually good to use and to attend Drupal-related events to get out there and get to know fellow Drupal-ers.

Manoj Sachwani has put together a summary listing of some of the popular PHP frameworks available today along with a brief summary of each.

Recently, I took on a project to code a web application from scratch. [...] Now, Most of you would suggest I should use a pre-existing open source solution, and logic would dictate I should probably use one. Sure! I should...But, How then am I going to learn and become more geeky and at the same time save time develop and deliver the web app? Enter, PHP Frameworks.

Some of the frameworks that made his list include Akelos, CodeIgniter, Prado, the Zend Framework and Symfony.

On the Inside DealTaker blog there's the first part of a tutorial on getting started with the latest revision of the Kohana PHP framework (v3.0).

So you might have read my aricle on frameworks and/or my series of tutorials on Kohana PHP 2.3.x and you are wanting more. Today, I drop the old 2.3.x and bring the new and shiny! So I bring you information to get you started with Kohana PHP 3.0!

The tutorial walks you through the unpacking, installing and configuration of your Kohana setup. They also help you create a simple controller that outputs a simple message on request.

On the PHPEveryDay.com site today a new set of tutorials has been posted for those wanting to a beginner's look at the Zend Framework and how to use it in a basic application.

The overview talks about what the framework is, why you might consider it for your next project and where you can grab what you need to get started. From there, it's links to mini-tutorials on the various parts of the framework like:

• a Zend Framework Intro
• the Zend Framework Action
• the Zend Framework Registry component
• creating a login
• Zend Framework Sessions

In a new post to his blog Brandon Savage takes a look at five different functions for working with arrays you can do some pretty cool things with:

Time and time again, I come across code that contains a variety of array-handling functions that too often duplicate the work that the PHP core team has done to develop built-in array functions. Since the built-in functions are inherently faster, trying to reimplement them in PHP will inevitably be a performance problem.

The five functions he covers are:

• array_key_exists
• usort
• array_pop
• aray_merge
• array_rand

Continuing in his introductory series of posts Brandon Savage has added this new tutorial to his blog introducing and showing how to work with functions.

For new developers, especially developers who have never been programmers before, moving from writing simple scripts to writing functions is a process that takes time. I developed in PHP for years before I wrote a single function. I also never found a comprehensive tutorial on how functions work, or how to write them. There's documentation in the manual, but it's a bit hard to grasp if you're new.

He looks at what they are, how they're used and some of the more technical details like scoping, optional arguments, using globals and passing values by reference.

Brandon Savage has posted the next part in his "Beginner Pattern" series sharing some of the basics of PHP with his readers. In this new article he looks at the PDO functionality and how it can be used to connect to and read from a MySQL database.

PDO offers a number of enhancements and improvements over the various database libraries (e.g. mysql_*, mysqli_*, pg_*), the biggest one being consistency. Still, the high level of code that involves direct use of the various database libraries means that PDO still isn't as widely accepted as it should be. This primer will show the various uses of PDO, and outline some of the benefits.

He gives two bits of example code - one showing a transaction and the other a normal MySQL connection without any kind transaction wrapper around it as an example of "the old way" to do things.

On The Bakery today there's a new post with a few things to watch out for when you're just getting started with the CakePHP framework.

Starting from scratch in cakephp is not always easy, especially when you are not used to MVC frameworks. I hope this will help other beginners to make their life easier.

Pitfalls listed include:

• Incorrect filenames
• Remember to use "echo" in views
• Unexpected results in ajax calls
• Put the query where it belongs

Check out the rest of the post for more handy tips.

In a new post to his blog Samuel Folkes expresses some concerns with the PHP community - not in how strong it is but how it might be making things harder for those new to the language.

Please, don't get me wrong, I am not at all implying that the PHP community has gotten any weaker. In fact I think that it is strengthening at a rapid rate due mainly to the fact that the language itself is becoming more robust and mature. The issue I have however is that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to learn PHP. Just pure PHP.

He goes on to say that some of the concepts (higher level concepts at least) can overwhelm beginners and may even drive them away from the language all together. He suggests that current PHP developers and members of the community remember how it was when they started and "get back to their roots" and encourage the basics of the language.