For anyone looking to get started helping on the Zend Framework 2 project but not sure where to begin, Robert Basic has some recommendations of places to look.

OK, here are some tips and resources so you can start helping out and contributing to Zend Framework 2.0.

Things on the list include:

• a getting started page on the ZF wiki
• Fixing unit tests on the framework
• working on the port of ZendService
• Porting patches from ZF1 to ZF2
• Check out the quickstart on github to get the ball rolling

Benjamin Eberlei has a new post today about a deployment technique he's trying out - using PEAR and PHAR to create deployable packages.

With PHP 5.3 the PHAR extension is a pretty powerful concept for all your deployment needs, however it does not tell the complete story. [...] With Pirum being a simple PEAR channel server there is also momentum for projects to distribute their code via PEAR. However PEAR is mostly used in the server-wide configuration use-case, which is not very useful if you plan to distribute your complete application in one PHAR file.

He shows how to create a sample package from a Zend Framework application, set it up in a PEAR channel complete with the ability to run a "pear upgrade" to get the latest version of the package. He also includes a bit of sample code to work with the PHAR archive and load the libraries inside.

Cal Evans has posted the first part of his look at DTAP - development, testing, acceptance and production - and how it applies to PHP development.

There are four primary systems that need to be set up and isolated. And they are described by the acronym DTAP-Development, Testing, Acceptance, and Production. One thing that has changed recently, though, is that these systems no longer have to mean separate hardware.

He gives an overview of each, setting out definitions to be used for the rest of the series with the next part discussing some of the "smaller moving pieces" of the process.

On the Ibuildings techPortal site Stefan Koopmanschap has written up some thoughts on one of the eternal struggles development shops face - whether to buy or build the software they need (either for themselves or their clients).

One of the biggest struggles in any software development company is "Buy vs. Build". How do you strike a balance between writing custom software and purchasing off-the-shelf solutions. This is something that is very hard and everyone gets it wrong every once in a while. In this article we will explore the way that Ibuildings approaches this issue, in the hopes that it helps others in getting it right more often.

He talks about considerations made on both sides - how flexible is the application, what is on-hand that could be adapted - and how the base product they might have purchased can act as a based to work from (like a content management system). There's no overall recommendation, though - too much of the decision depends on what's needed at the time and the capabilities of the technical staff employed.

As a reminder from Ibuildings and Microsoft, time is running out for you to register for the 2009 WinPHP Challenge - the deadline is April 17th!

PHP is the language that runs the web, however, for a long time; PHP had a reputation of poor performance on Windows. Thanks to the hard work of the PHP Windows team and help from their friends in Redmond, Windows is now a first class citizen for PHP deployment as well as development. We asked two of the Core Windows PHP developers what they thought about the progress that PHP had made on Windows.

The contest is easy - make a brand new PHP application (not a port) build on a Windows and IIS7 setup. All needed licenses, software and hardware - each contestant gets their own Windows Server 2008 VPS to work on - that'll be used for the competition. Applications will be judged on originality, how complete they are, how/if they use Windows features and how well they're documented.

The contest will run from April 17th through May 31st to give you plenty of time to develop your application. You can find out more about the contest and register on this page off the Dutch PHP Conference wiki (the registration link is up there near the top).

DevShed has posted a new tutorial introducing PHP and MySQL interaction by developing a simple online IQ test.

If you are a school administrator wanting to have an IQ test online, then this tutorial is for you. It can be used not only in the field of academics, but in the instances where you need to draw user interest to your website. An IQ test is a popular feature to incorporate into your website, and will attract a large amount of web traffic over time.

The test takes a few things into consideration - how long it takes the person to take the test, the user-friendliness of the interface and the speed that the results are given back to the user. It also includes the scoring system behind the test (weighted based on age and test question levels).

On the Zend Developer Zone, ahamedjais has written up a tutorial that talks to the reader about the creation of an example PHP desktop application via PHP-GTK.

We have been creating web-applications using PHP since it came into existence, now we can also develop Desktop or Stand alone Applications with PHP-GTK. [...] Thanks to PHP-GTK, we can now build cross platform windowed applications with PHP as well.

He starts off by describing what PHP-GTK is and the essentials (like where to get it and how to test to see if your installation is working with some sample code). He also includes links to more resources about PHP-GTK including a PHP-GTK cookbook and a page describing all of the base GTK classes.

As mentioned by Elizabeth Naramore on the php|architect website, NuSPhere has announced the release of the latest version of their PHP IDE, PhpED 5.2.

Updates in this new edition include a PHP code navigator, code folding, support for custom headers, an embedded Mozilla browser and an improved manual (always a good thing). If you'd like to give it a shot in your development, check out the free trial or get the discount when you buy your own copy.

On the Stubbles blog, there's a new post that answers a question they'd mentioned in a previous post about why they develop the Stubbles framework.

In an earlier entry I promised that we will explain why we develop Stubbles. Well, there is a short version of it and a long version.

Short version: for us.
Read on for the long version.

He (Franke Kleine) lists out the reasons in his long version, including:

• Release cycles and maintenance requirements
• Why "use your force to improve another framework" is not a valid point
• Do we really reinvent the wheel?
• More company influence
• To open source or to not open source

...each with their own justification. Even if some of them are a little weak ("other people started frameworks, why can't we?"), most are good reasons for them to create their own in-house framework that just happens to be released to the rest of the community. Their effort wasn't to create something for the greater good, but to make something that they (and anyone else that might find it useful) could use.

With all of the recent talk about business cases for PHP, Ben Ramsey wanted to get some of his thoughts on the matter out and into his blog in a new post.

I don't believe anyone has ever published any white papers on PHP, giving it a business case, and while we have companies like Zend, OmniTI, and eZ Systems providing support for PHP, I haven't seen any documentation from them like this. So, last Thursday when Google Group for developing a business case for PHP, I took notice and joined.

Definitely good to hear encouraging words about a project that could ultimately help out the language as a whole break into an area where the growth has been the slowest.