On the Mindoop blog, there's a new post talking about some of the issues that the Zend Framework could cause with the SEO for your site - a simple reason, really.

Zend framework is becoming a first choice framework for a large percentage of PHP developers. It's native support for advanced URL routing makes implementing search engine optimized URLs a breeze. Or not?

Because of the reserved words for the controllers and the multiple ways to access the actions below it (his example is case_studies, case-studies and case)studies) make three different ways to get to the same content - a SEO no-no.

On his blog today, Brian Moon talks about setting up ForceType directives in Apache, specifically how to make "friendly URLs" without having to use mod_rewrite (which might not be installed on your server).

This has been covered before, but I was just setting up a new force type on our servers and thought I would mention it for the fun of it. You see lots of stuff about using mod_rewrite to make friendly URLs or SEO friendly URLs. But, if you are using PHP (and I guess other Apache modules) you can do it without mod_rewrite.

There's three steps to the process - adding the directive to your Apache config, making the script able to handle the request, avoiding duplication of content and returning a 404 error when there's no matching data.

As mentioned by Ed Finkler, there's a list of signs your PHP needs refactoring from Soledad Penades.

I have had to go through a php application recently which has given me more than one headache and has required me to use all my possible patience. While working with it, I thought This is good material for an article, so that nobody else does the same in the future, and nobody else will need to experience the same displeasure as I have had to.

So here are the signs your PHP application needs a serious refactoring, right now

Included in the list are things like:

• Uses global variables
• Everything's an array
• The neverending switch
• Interface inconsistency

It hits on one of the thing that bugs me too, the problem of "Brackets galore" - so many subarrays that you have to resort to three or more sets of bracketed keys to get to the value you want. It's bad enough trying to follow someone else's code without having to "trace down" an array to figure out which of the values they're talking about.