Alessandro Crugnola has posted an update on the future of the AMFPHP project (an interface between Adobe's Flex products and PHP) and how it relates to the work being done on the Zend Framework's Zend_Amf component.

But after the partnership between Zend and Adobe things started to change and amfphp started to move forward to the Zend Framework... and in fact many developers were afraid about the real future of amfphp. But, as Wade said, the amfphp core will remain separated from the framework implementation ( a framework which I will never use however ), in order to have a shared core and 2 different branches for the implementation.

He notes, though, that he might be being a bit skeptical, but doesn't see things working out in their favor and that Zend_Amf will "win out" over the AMFPHP project and get the larger share of the backing from the larger companies.

In this new post to his blog, Manfred Webber shares an example he's put together to combine the PureMVC framework with the Zend_Amf component of the Zend Framework.

Since PureMVC is my framework of choice I could not resist creating a simple demo connecting PureMVC to the new Zend_AMF.

The sample application just responds to a button click by displaying a message inside of a text container. You can download the source that includes both the Flex and PHP sides.

On PHPBuilder.com Richard Bates has continued his series introducing the Zend_Amf component of the Zend Framework and how to get a sample project setup that uses it.

Last week we discussed the new Zend Framework extension and gave you a look inside its functionality. This week we take off where we ended last week, and delve into remote objects and Zend_Amf!

The tutorial walks you through the setup of a new project, the PHP code behind it and how to get the two talking back and forth through a RemoteObject. Screenshots and complete code are included.

Andi Gutmans has posted an update on the status of the Zend_Amf component of the Zend Framework to his blog today, including links to some examples and updates from other developers.

At ZendCon this year we announced a partnership between Zend and Adobe. The goal of the partnership is to help make it easier for PHP developers to use Flex. Since then there has been a flurry of activity including blog posts and the introduction of Zend_Amf into the main trunk of Zend Framework.

Some of the resources he links to include several examples written up by Kevin Hoyt showing how to get started with the component, the webinar from Matthew Weier o'Phinney and Lee Brimlow as well as a manual page for it over on RIAFox.com.

The Flex and Air blog has posted about a tool that can be used to jump-start your Zend_Amf powered application - CRUDdy Buddy.

CRUDdy Buddy is an AIR application I created to generate the code necessary to get started on a Zend_Amf project. It creates all of the PHP necessary, along with ActionScript classes and <mx:RemoteObject> tags you can paste into your Flex or AIR application.

They have a video on Vimeo showing it in action. You'll need the Adobe AIR runtime to be able to use it, but that's a simple and quick install. There are versions for both Mac (using Mac-specific fonts) and Windows/Linux (using Arial). You can download a PDF of the documentation here.

This new article from PHPBuilder.com talks about getting started with one of the newly introduced components of the Zend Framework (in collaboration with Adobe) - the Zend_Amf interface.

To introduce this new Zend Framework extension and give you a look inside its functionality, I show you how to build a Flex application that pulls data from a MySQL database using PHP. First, you set up the application to use XML, the conventional cross-platform data-exchange method. Then, you change the code to use AMF and custom classes.

They give you the tools you'll need to set up the right environment (including version 1.7 or later of the Zend Framework and Adobe Flex Builder) and the steps to create the simple application. It uses a MySQL backend to store contact information ad a basic Flex interface to pull that information back out for display.

Matthew Weier O'Phinney and Lee Brimelow will be giving a free webinar tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct 22nd) covering the Zend_Amf component of the Zend Framework.

They'll go over the Zend Framework and the Zend AMF module that allows PHP developers to connect Flex applications to Zend Framework powered applications using AMF. You have to register for the e-seminar to attend.

You can find out more about using Flex and the Zend Framework together in this section of the Adobe website.

Richard Bates has a new post to the Flexandair.com blog about the new AMF support that the latest Zend Framework version (1.7) contains - the Zend_Amf component.

To get started with Zend_Amf, you'll first need to download Zend Framework 1.7. To do that, go to the Zend Framework download page and select the 1.7 release (near the bottom of the page). Alternatively, you can download only the components required for Zend_Amf here. This is the current build from the incubator (SVN), so its no more stable than the full release, just smaller (128 kb).

The post includes links to a screencast done by the package author (Wade Arnold) as well as updates from his blog.

He also mentions some of the "pitfalls" that he had when trying to get it up and working, specifically with the class mapping and defining RemoteObject parameters in the code rather than an external XML file.