Rob Allen has a new post to his blog today introducing you to the ZendEventManager component of the Zend Framework v2, a key part of how this latest version of the framework does its job.

Zend Framework 2's EventManager is a key component of the framework which is used for the core MVC system. The EventManager allows a class to publish events that other objects can listen for and then act when the event occurs. The convention within Zend Framework 2 is that any class that triggers events composing its own EventManager.

He starts with some terminology to get everyone on the same page (listener, event, EventManager) and includes an example of its use in setting up a "PhotoMapper" object showing how to trigger events in the "findById" method. He shows how to listen for a specific event (in his case, a "pre-execute" on the "findById" method) and a method for "short circuiting" the listener based on the response from the "trigger" call. He also touches on the "SharedEventManager" that can be used to add an event across all of your application at the same time.

Following up on their previous look at the component architecture of the Yii framework, PHPMaster has posted this new tutorial showing how the framework allows you to do some event-based programming.

An application event is something that occurs which might be of interest to other bits of code. A standard event in most GUI applications would be a "click" event, but the sky's the limit and what events you define is really up to you. [...] The details can be provided by application-specific modules allowing you to keep individual requirements separate from your reusable code. Events allow you to attach a potentially unlimited amount of functionality without changing your core modules and components.

In his example, he shows how to create an event handler that is triggered when the user registers on the site. This event (CEvent) is then registered with the system and is attached via a call in the controller's "init" method.

In this recent post to his blog Ian Barber offers up some hints on presenting at conferences (or other events really) based on some of his experiences at this year's PHP Benelux Conference that just wrapped up in Belgium.

Some of the conversations I had during the weekend were around technical presenting at conferences and usergroups, so I thought I'd collect a handful of the tips that were discussed into a post, and use a few of my favourite speakers at the event to illustrate them.

He has it broken up by speaker, first David Zülke, Rowan Merewood and David Coallier, each with their own highlights of what they did well in their presentations. The list includes:

• Make concepts concrete with examples and demos
• Care About The Visuals
• Project Confidence
• Engage The Audience

Ian provides summaries for each of the points, describing what the speaker did to accomplish it and how it could be put into practice by other presenters.

Bradley Holt has a new post to his blog announcing the Boston PHP Northeast Conference happening in August (2012) in Cambridge, Massachusetts:

I'm excited to be able to announce that the first ever Boston PHP Northeast Conference will be taking place on Saturday, August 11th and Sunday, August 12th at Microsoft's NERD Center in Cambridge, MA. This regional event is intended for PHP beginners, enthusiasts, and professionals alike.

The conference will not just cover PHP but also general web development topics with a dash of user experience thrown in. Three regional groups are hosting the event: BostonPHP, Burlington, VT user group and the Atlantic Canadian PHP user group.

php|architect has officially announced the speaker line up for what they call their "Cloud Summit", a day-long event happening at the end of November about cloud computing - what it is and how you and your PHP applications can take advantage of it.

Tired of hearing about the ever-so... nebulous "Cloud" and what vendors say it will do for humankind? Yeah, us too. So, why won't it just go away? We found some folks who have used the cloud successfully to strike it big and asked them to show us why it made such a big difference to them. We were surprised, and now we're going to share it with you.

The event is virtual, so you can attend no matter where you are. The cost is $50 USD for a single ticket, $24 USD for php|architect subscribers and $100 USD for an "office party". Speakers for the event include Sean Coates (of Gimmie Bar), Kirsten Jones & Jeremy Johnstone and Marcus Whitney. You can find out more information and register for your ticket on the php|architect site.

Blurring the lines of the usual conference scene, Lorna Mitchell has posted about her experience at a Python conference as a PHP developer (and a speaker at that).

A few weeks ago, while attending the delightful OggCamp, I was approached by someone asking me to speak at PyConUK. Well ... I'm a PHP developer, but as with most PHP developers, we just like good shiny tech and aren't religious about any particular language. So I instantly said yes and then started to worry what I was letting myself in for!

She mentions being happy for attending if for nothing else than that it allowed her a look at technology outside of the usual PHP bubble. The event featured session on topics ranging from music production on linux, the Nanode project, accessibility and Lorna's "Careers in Open Source" presentation.

Attending conferences/events that apply outside of your own community can lead to some great things. Be sure to poke your head up now and again and take in the bigger picture - there's more than just one language (or sets of technology) out there. Jump in and learn from them, even if you're just a beginner.

If you're attending this year's Dutch PHP Conference, they've just posted an important announcement about the conference social:

The conference social will now take place at a venue called ClubNL, which is also in central Amsterdam and within easy walk from the Amsterdam main train station. Please remember to hold on to your conference badge, as you will need it to gain access to the event. For more details check out the updated social page on our website. We are hoping to see you all there!

There's still time for you to get your tickets to this great event happening in a few weeks (May 19th-21st) in Amsterdam - full event tickets run 695 Euro and the single-day tickets (just tutorial or just conference day) are 375 Euro. Get yours today!

As announced yesterday, there's a new conference happening in Dallas, Texas in June of this year (on the 11th) - the Lone Star PHP Conference:

The Lone Star PHP Conference brings together some of the best local speakers from around Texas. They bring their experience and knowledge to this day-long event, the first PHP conference in North Texas.

The event will be on June 11th and will last from 8am through 5:30pm with a break for lunch. The price of the ticket includes beverages all day (water, coffee, sodas) and a boxed lunch for all attendees.

Tickets for this one-day event cost $60 USD and includes some great talks on topics like working with Zend_Form (Zend Framework), dependency injection, Windows Azure, application deployment and benchmarking frameworks. Tickets can be purchased from the event's Eventbrite site.

In a new post to the Zend Developer Zone, Ralph Schindler has posted about this month's Bug Hunt Days for the Zend Framework. They start today (Thursday, February 17) and run through Saturday.

For those who haven't put the reoccurring event in their calendar, this announcement is for you: Zend Framework Monthly Bug-hunt is here again! This Thursday, Friday and Saturday of February (the 17th, 18th and 19th 2011), we'll be hosting our monthly bug hunt. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, each month, we organize the community to help reduce the number of open issues reported against the framework.

Last month the event closed 24 issues with a tie for first. If you're wanting to get involved and close even more of those issues, the post has the steps you'll need (including filing a CLA with Zend).

On the PHPWomen blog today there's a new post talking about two of the group's members - Ligaya Turmelle and Lorna Mitchell that will be participating in the second installment of the Day Camp 4 Developers series. This time the focus is on telecommuting.

I bring this up *not just* because it will be a great conference on a subject that is "the holy grail for many developers" - Telecommuting, but also because it will again have 2 of our members in the 5 speaker lineup - Ligaya Turmelle and Lorna Jane Mitchell.

Ligaya will bespeaking on keeping the work and life balance intact despite working from home and Lorna offers a few suggestions for you to answer the question "Could You Telecommute?". The Day Camp 4 Developers even happens Saturday, March 5th and lasts all day. There's a few different ticket options ranging from just the event out to an "Office Party" for more than one attendee.