Link Details

I'm giving a try to PHP and PHP 5.3 looks very exciting with closures and namespaces, But I will not use any framework with PHP because PHP already is a web framework and template and it is easy to work with it as that way. For example the ZF framework I feel it bloats PHP , It makes heavyweight and difficult to use. I better suggest to apply best practices and Patterns in your programming and use plain PHP is the best.

I'm a Java programmer also and I love when we say it is a POJO a Plain Old Java Object it makes programming fun again and easy.

So I hope PHP continues the path of the easy to use and not get bloated and complicate as the EJB2.x of Java it was hell to work with it.

Also I see a win win with PHP with Fast development cycle and it is a dynamic language is fun to work with, Before I bashed PHP a lot but now I'm getting to understand it. Thanks to the people that showed me that PHP is not so bad language after all.

Use plain old PHP object.

You are wrong again, PHP frameworks are a must have for any non trivial project. You should first try something before you comment on it. ZF doesn't add any bloat, it's a "glue framework", you can use individual component as needed. The beauty of PHP is that you get simplicity and complexity in one package and apply it accordingly. You still have a lot to understand about it.
So, don't use plain old PHP, don't reinvent the wheel.

Ok, I think I get what is Zend framework it is a Standard OOP PHP library with helpers so we don't need to reinvent the wheel, I liked the controller stuff I need to play more with it.

About my first comment is that thanks to you heheh I checked PHP and 5.3 really looks very interesting, But I hope it doesnt happend to PHP what happen to Java, Actually Im now 100% go to PHP and let Java go. But for example EJB and Struts bloated Java it is a pain in the neck to work with it. So when I took a look again to PHP(after that nasty messages the other day sorry), I said hell this is getting simple, easy and exciting. I thought, that guy from DZone it was right lol.

Anyway just my thoughts, Peace.

PS. Do you suggest to use an IDE with PHP? or better just a text editor?.

Features are constantly added to PHP, it's becoming more powerful and "enterprisey" each year, but you still have access to quick and dirty hacking and the choice is yours. Whether it's PHP5 or 6 you will still be able to write simple scripts like you did with PHP4.

IDE/editor for most people is just personal preference. I use Eclipse because I usually work with complex object oriented code and frameworks like Zend. I also use SVN integration and dozens of other features, I just can't imagine working without it. But some people are happier with VIM.

VIM is my favorite choice, very powerfull and lightweight (you can use it almost like and IDE for PHP, debugging included).

Paying for this thing, the best option is Zend Studio for Eclipse, (you have also Eclipse PDT for free but you'll loose some interesting characteristics, specially refactoring). For a very lightweight framework you can try TinyMVC (http://www.tinymvc.com/) a simple but well designed base for MVC proyects.