It’s with some sadness, that earlier this week, I wished a fond farewell to the biggest blog I ever created, Master Zend Framework. Given that, it only feels right — and responsible — to talk about what motivated the decision to close the blog, and what the future holds for the blog’s content.
Recently, after four days of a harsh flu, I finished the Ethical Hacking, Understanding Ethical Hacking course, by Dale Meredith. So I wanted to blog about it.
In any application there are a lot of moving parts, which can lead to a lot of complexity — especially when it comes to configuration. Given Zend Framework’s flexible nature, this can easily be the case — if we’re not careful — requiring a lot of supporting configuration. ConfigProvider classes, however, make managing application configuration very maintainable, even intuitive. This tutorial shows how to implement them.
If you want to change a layout for one or all actions in a controller, how do you do it without overriding the layout globally? Today’s post shows how.
Do you need to use different elements of a Zend Form, in multiple locations? Are you keen to reuse the same form class and avoid code duplication but don’t know how? Come learn about validation groups.
In part 3 of this series on \Zend\Db\Sql\Select in Zend Framework 2 We cover the constructor, columns function, aliases and expressions, finishing up with limit and order functions. Come wind up the series in style.
In part two of the \Zend\Db\Sql\Select series, we create inner, outer, left and right joins as well as union queries with ease. Come learn more about building queries simply, effectively and easily in your every day applications with Zend Framework 2.
In this tutorial we’re working through the basics of \Zend\Db\Sql\Where, showing how to build SQL Where clauses for database queries. We’ll show how to create different predicates from simple to nested queries using of and, or, like, between and in conditions.
In today’s tutorial, we go through the key options in ZFTool, the tooling support available in Zend Framework 2. We install it, create a basic ZF2 application and more.
Today using Zend Framework 2 RouteMatch, Router and Request objects, I show you an easy way to dynamically update the current route. It’s almost painlessly simple.
The Zend ServiceManager simplifies the web application development process by making configuration a breeze. In this, the 4th post introducing Zend Framework 2, you will learn what the ServiceManager is how to use it and how it simplifies applicaiton development time.
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.
It’s a really exciting time at the moment with Zend Framework 2 gaining so much traction, after being stable for some time now.
Though I and countless others really enjoyed the 1.x series, it did leave some things to be desired - to be fair.
But the more I explore of the 2.x series, the more I honestly can say that I’m very impressed with it. It may not be as fast as the previous series, but with respect to development, there’s so much going for it it’s worth shouting about.
So it really is rewarding and exciting to begin covering all that it has to offer us. In part one of this series, I looked at a central concept of the revised framework - Dependency Injection.
In today’s post, we look at one of the simplest and most effective components of the Zend Framework that allows us to create extendable and extensible Zend Framework applications - Zend Application Resource Plugins (combined with the Strategy Pattern). If you want to ensure your apps can grow without heartache, read on.
If you’ve been using Zend Forms for any length of time, you’ll know just how flexible and configurable they are. There’s not much that you can’t do with them, But it’s not always easy and there are catches. Today we look at ensuring that module-based Zend Forms using the ViewScript decorator can always be initialised no matter what.
As you know from reading Malt Blue, I’m rather a Zend Framework fan. Whether it’s the controller plugins, easily adding RSS feeds to applications, configuration with Zend Config or more – I really believe it’s one of the best PHP framework choices. But well, it’s a bit heavyweight. Enter Kohana!
During the recent development of the new PHP cloud development casts site, which has been developed with the Zend Framework, so much development time has been saved by using one of the simplest and arguably best features of the framework: Controller Plugins. So today I want to introduce you to them and walk you through a working plugin so you can see just how effective and efficient they can make your development workflow.
When you’re working with Zend Form you keep your configuration as much out of code as you can - right? Well, if you’ve been working withZend Form for more than a little while, you know that Zend Config really makes that pretty simple - well, some of the time. In this series we look, comprehensively at how to do it all with Zend_Config.
The Zend Framework Bootstrap can be one of the key aspects of getting up and running quickly with the Zend Framework. Let’s make it easy.
Recently I was asked how to rename a file with the Zend Framework that used a Zend Form and Zend File element. They key requirement was that it should not be a hack or a kludged solution. So I thought I’d write a quick post to provide a simple example on how it was achieved.
Ok, we’ve established that with the Zend Framework, we need to do a bit more work than some of the other frameworks to get up to speed - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing - right?! But it can be a bit tedious and it’s something as professional developers, we want to automate away. So we’ve been addressing in this series how to do just that with a custom, extendable bootstrap class.
In the first part of the series we laid the foundation of our custom bootstrap class by creating a custom class directory structure, adding its namespace to the application ini and modifying the default application bootstrap so that it extends from it and had a look at the first component - caching.
Then, in the second part of the series, we built on the foundation laid in part one by creating plugin resources for the routing table, application navigation and the database connections - these being some of the most common tasks, usually, associated with a web-based application.
In this, the third and final part of the series, I’m going to finish up by looking at application placeholders and surprise, no not logging as originally promised, but pagination. As an added extra, we’re going to be using a key feature of Zend Application to make it a breeze.
In the first part of the series, you’ll remember that we laid the foundation of our custom bootstrap class by creating a custom class directory structure, adding its namespace to the application ini and creating our custom bootstrap file that our application bootstrap will extend from.
After we did that, we put in the first but arguably the most important plugin resource – caching and stored it in the application registry. In this post we’re going to be building on that work and adding in three new plugin resources: routing, navigation and databases.
When you’re creating a new project with the Zend Framework, unlike other frameworks, you need to do more legwork. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can sure slow you down when you’re trying to plough through a project.
I really enjoy using it, as it has a very well structured approach – and I like structure – it clearly lays out a file-system structure for modules, controllers, actions, forms, models and so on. It has good, but basic, tooling, allowing for modest project initialisation. But despite all this, it still requires a healthy investment on our part to get a proper foundation in place to use it productively.
In a recent project I encountered this situation and felt that I mustn’t be the only one to do so. As I plan to keep using Zend Framework I want to work around this situation and get as much productivity out of it as possible right from the get go. But how to do this?
Well the primary focus for me is bootstrapping. It provides the majority of the core services that every project needs, from routing, data source connections, authentication, authorisation, navigation, caching and so on. So it stands to reason that it’s a good place to start. So I want to cover what should go in to a good working bootstrap.
Let me describe said situation for you; The user has a list of items and they’ve chosen to delete one. Given such a volatile action, you want them to doubly opt-in and confirm that they want to do this.
The last thing you want your user to feel, after they’ve clicked the delete link, is “NO WAAAAAAIIIIT! I didn’t mean to do that”. So the user clicks &’delete&’ and is directed to a confirmation page (which is rendered with Zend Form). There are two buttons on the page; the first is “Delete Item”, the second “Cancel”.
If the user clicks either button, the form submits to itself, where the value of the button clicked is determined. If the user clicks “Delete Item”, then the deletion is carried out, deleting the item from the datasource. If the user clicks “Cancel” the user is returned to the list of items they were previously viewing, the item is not deleted and the user is provided a message, confirming the non-deletion.
So in the last installment of this series, I provided an introduction to Zend_Auth, Zend_Auth_Adapter_Interface and Zend_Auth_Result and how to implement Zend_Auth_Adapter_Interface to implement a basic test adapter that can be used as a mock object in your testing.
If you missed it, check it out now, then come back and we’ll continue on. If you’ve already read it, then let’s continue now.
As I indicated last time, whilst being a perfectly valid implementation, the Test adapter was rather basic and didn’t do very much. Like all good testing, you need flexibility and options. So in this installment, we’re going to build an adapter based around Zend_Config. This will lead quite nicely in to the last part in the series which uses the wonderful MongoDB as the underlying resource for the adapter.
Zend_Auth provides a very extensible workflow for creating new adapters to suit your authentication needs. In this post, I start you off with a simple Test/Mock adapter.
Do you want a scalable, high performance PHP application that logs everything in an intelligible manner; in a manner that you can use now, tomorrow and three weeks from now? It’s so possible! In a series of posts, I am going to show you how to put it together using Zend Framework, ZeroMQ and Hadoop.
Zend Auth, if you want to secure a Zend Framework app, along with Zend Acl, it’s essential. But do you know what it is? Do you know how to use it? Do you know how to extend it? Through this series I’m going to show you how to do all three.
phpMagazin recently did a good job of covering Zend_Translate; specifically what it is, how it works and four of the basic translation adapters; those being Array, CSV, Gettext and Ini. However, what they didn’t cover was what I think, is one of the best choices of adapters that Zend_Translate has; which is TMX.
This is a mini-post showing you how to get up and running with mongoDB and Zend Framework using a series of third-party libraries, including Shanty-Mongo library. To be honest, it’s rather trivial, but sometimes it can be frustrating trying to find a simple, concise, reference on how to do it, specific to just your needs.
Zend Framework, one of the big frameworks today. Is it the right choice, is it the wrong choice? We believe it’s one of the right choices for professional PHP development. Here’s 10 reasons why!
The Zend Framework, whilst a great tool, is often slighted for being big and bloated. Now I’m not contesting that, but it does have a heck of a lot going for it. So if you’re going get the most out of it, then you need these 10 tips.
Like any profession or trade, you can spend years refining your craft; always looking for the path of least resistance; the path of greatest simplicity, which leads to your goals in the shortest time and the least amount of effort. Especially in software development, you try to simplify and automate as much as you can. Not only do you save unnecessary time, but you get to devote your energies to the most meaningful aspects; the areas that bring greatest productivity and satisfaction to you and your client or employer.
In this article, a follow up to writing a secure, Restful service with the Zend Framework, I’m going to cover the HTTP status codes that you should use, where and when. The reason for this is that they’re a fundamental aspect of the interaction with the service. You get this right and you will make it so much better for clients to use your service; you get it wrong and you may only have a few users and they may do a lot of work for very little gain.
I’ve been using mongoDB and Zend Framework to make a simple, replicatable filesystem. As it went well, I thought that I could quickly apply what I’d done to create an ultra-simple blog system. Read on to find out all about it.
What’s your attitude to i18n? Are you not quite sure what i18n is? Well, according to Wikipedia, it’s:
Internationalization is the process of designing a software application so that it can be adapted to various languages and regions without engineering changes. Localization is the process of adapting internationalized software for a specific region or language by adding locale-specific components and translating text.
So you’re up with the RESTful buzz but you’re concerned about security; as you should be! So what do you do? Well, like all good OOP practitioners, you don’t reinvent the wheel. As Steve Jobs said, “Good artists create, Great artists Steal”, or borrow in our case. So let’s look at the Amazon S3 model and implement that with our framework of choice - Zend Framework to protect your RESTful services.
Do you love the variety of formats that you can publish and subscribe to in this veritable golden-age of computing we’re enjoying? Same here. Whether it’s JSON, XML, RSS, Atom, CSV or even Excel format, there’s just so much choice.
The challenging thing is that though there’s so much choice of format, there are also so many demands to use them - ALL. So what do you do when your boss, client, friend, family-member (whom you’re the technical support person for) requests this for their blog or site?