Ralph Schinder has posted about a new development in the world of Zend Framwork distribution - a PEAR channel.

For the past few months, the ZF team has been playing with the idea of releasing ZF from a PEAR channel. Over the past 2 years, we have seen a few channels distributing ZF that have pop up here and there.. so that lead us to believe there is an itch that needs scratching. The compelling reason against a PEAR channel is that, with ZF, there is nothing to "install". Just pop ZF in your include_path and off you go.

With the introduction of the next release (1.8) and the Zend_Tool component that comes with it, the framework is graduating from a "component library" into a more holistic framework with a more advanced distribution system. For those interested, he also includes the details of the channel (from pear.zfcampus.org) and the organizational plan of how the channel is laid out.

Jani Hartikainen has posted his idea for using forms along with models in a Zend Framework application.

Matthew Weier O'Phinney wrote about using Zend_Form with models. His approach puts a form inside a model, which then uses the form to validate itself. While this idea is not bad, I find it being upside down - I think the form should use the model to validate itself, not the other way around.

Jani describes two alternate methods - using a global model to do the checking or a model-based validation class that would inherit the model's functionality through being extended. He describes each option's setup and potential use (no code is included save for a few small examples).

Daniel Cousineau has a new blog post showing off a plugin he's made for Zend Framework applications that allows you to run a script before each controller.

Recently at work I had the need to run a script before every single controller (namely to add a plugin folder to Dwoo) for a specific module that I did not desire for any other modules. I could have subclassed all my controllers to extend a custom action controller that handled this in the init() method, however I'm lazy so I wrote a quick Zend Controller Plugin to handle this for me.

The plugin actually runs when the routeShutdown method is used (after the routing is done, but before the controller is called) and pulls in the contents of the specified file and executes it like the code was already embedded. Complete code is included.

Robert Basic has posted an example of the use of the Zend_Auth component of the Zend Framework inside of an example controller.

So, here's what I'm going to do: authenticate an user against a database table using Zend Framework's Zend_Auth component. It's really a piece of cake. You can see a working example here: http://robertbasic.com/dev/login/.

He sets up a registry instance, a database table for the logins and the sample controller with both login and logout functionality. Complete code (and links to Zend Framework documentation are included).

Lorna Mitchell has posted a review she's done of the Packt Publishing book "RESTful PHP Web Services" (by Samisa Abeysinghe).

Overall it was well-written (with only as many spelling mistakes as any other PHP book) and clearly organised. [...] Very few services that claim to be RESTful actually are, which makes writing anything along these lines very tricky, however I did feel the author could have been clearer about why having a single URL and a parameter for which action should be performed, doesn't fit well. We do get a sense of excitement about services as ways to "glue together" bits of data on the net, and the possibilities of exposing and consuming information in this way.

She talks about the quality of the technical content (including the "very thorough" non-framework examples and Zend Framework example) and some of the extra baggage she felt it could do without - specifically the overhead that adding the Zend Framework could add.

Padraic Brady has released chapter one and chapter two of his "Surviving the Deep End" Zend Framework book:

As many of you know, the book is available online without charge. [...] Let me know your thoughts, and post any general comments or questions on the book or website here. I'll be adding a general end-of-page comment system to the mix during the next day or two so posting general comments here is a temporary stopgap.

The first chapter is just an introduction looking at what the book will cover and what the framework's all about. Chapter two gets a bit more in depth, looking at the architecture of the Zend Framework and details things like routing and how it implements MVC.

Continuing his series looking at models in Zend Framework applications, Matthew Weier O'Phinney has posted this new tutorial focusing on model infrastructure - figuring out what your models are really for and how to write to that.

The Model is a complex subject. However, it is often boiled down to either a single model class or a full object relational mapping (ORM). [...] When you think in these terms, you start breaking your system into discrete pieces that you need to manipulate, as well as consider how each piece relates to the others. This type of exercise also helps you stop thinking of your model in terms of database tables; instead, your database becomes the container in which data is persisted from one use of your model to the next. Your model instead is an object that can do things with either incoming or stored data -- or even completely autonomously.

He notes that he is a fan of the domain model method and uses this method as he works through the different topics of building out your most useful model:

• asking "What are you modeling?"
• setting up the "gateway" into your domain model
• working with value objects/record sets

All of this along with plenty of code to illustrate his points...

Eran Galperin has taken and passed Zend's newer certification offering, the Zend Framework Certified Engineer exam. In this new post he talks some about the experience and his impressions of the test itself.

Today I took and passed the Zend Framework certification exam. A possible project involving Zend might be materializing in the near future, and this was a requirement from one of my contractors (OpenIT). Being that they offered to sponsor the cost, I had no reason not take it.

He talks about the test and the testing procedure - one and a half hours long with seventy-five questions in all. Most were multiple choice but some asked for the resulting output from some code. Lots of topics are covered including specific modules and general MVC architecture. He points out a slightly discouraging fact - that the number of "trick" questions seemed a bit high.

I do have some more respect for people holding the certification now (regarding knowledge and experience), though I'm not sure what regard does it hold in the industry.

Ray Cheung posted his comparison of the Zend Framework and CakePHP a little while back to share some of the thoughts and research he did to pick one over the other for his application.

A lot of people have been asking for some comparison articles for some of the popular frameworks. [...] Overall, both these frameworks are good to use as per your requirements. CakePHP is suitable for developers new to MVC and those who require stricter conventions. ZF is a choice for those who need better control over the application design and built-in support for renowned Web services. Both the frameworks are developing fast and the choice is entirely yours.

He includes brief overviews of each framework and comments on documentation and configuration issues surrounding them.

Commentors on the post include Nate Abele (of CakePHP) and Wil Sinclair (of the Zend Framework).

On the PHP::Impact blog there's a recent post looking at using the popular unit testing PHP framework PHPUnit to test Zend Framework controllers.

Testing a Web application is a complex task, because a Web application is made of several layers of logic. Unit testing a Zend Framework controller can be very difficult, specially for those who are not familiar with the Zend Framework. You can test your action controllers using Zend_Test and/or PHPUnit. Zend_Test allows you to simulate requests, insert test data, inspect your application's output and generally verify your code is doing what it should be doing.

He opts for the second one and includes the directory structure you'll need to set up the tests, an example bootstrap file and a simple controller (AllTests). A simple test example is also included that checks a few things - if its the default action, the first action, parameter names and method names.