Symfony is one of the most popular open source PHP frameworks on the market. The Symfony Components, however, are loosely coupled projects that can be reused as a library outside of an application based on Symfony. The component this article explores is Console (symfony/console on Packagist and GitHub), dedicated to quickly build console applications.

He goes on to talk about some of the "pros" of using the component (including built-in argument/input handing and multiple "commands") and some of the "cons" of is use (including its size and some of the built-in features you can't really work around).

t seems to be the hot framework this year, straight out of the oven, and into the hands of many bloggers who religiously swear by it. I've been using it for a few weeks and have formed my own opinion on it.

He lists some his own pros (easy to learn, good routing) and cons (still very news, smaller community and support sources) and asks for thoughts from other users of the framework. Comments include things like:

• One of the downsides to laravel seems to be that it's an extremely fast moving target (in comparison to most other frameworks out there).
• Lack of contract / freelance work out there for it, and having to use the irc channel for support, where you can be somewhat overlooked if you ask beginner questions.
• It's a nice enough framework that leaves a bad taste in my mouth due to all the buzzwords used to describe it. Beautiful, artisan, fluid, etc etc. One word I hardly ever hear is utilitarian.
• My primary need as a developer at this point is stability. I simply can't bother with a package this new and unsupported, even if it is positively fantastic.

There's comments going both ways - some in support of the framework (including one of the authors of it) and some with their criticisms. What do you think of this new framework on the block - share here!

In the community of PHP developers there are more non-certified professionals than certified professionals. PHP developers mostly don't really see the pro's of getting certified. These developers mostly honor the fact that PHP is a quick and easy language to learn and to get started with, and professionalism is found even by building a simple dynamic web page, leaving the discussion of whether this is a good or bad thing for what it is.

He talks about the confidence it can give current (and future) employers in your skill level and let them know you're the kind that keeps on learning/improving in your career. It also lets them know that you're dedicated enough to learn what you need to pass and can put it into practice easier in the future.

Once I read [Brandon's post on why recruiters are bad for your career], I knew that I needed to get Brandon, and another friend of mine, Scott Gordon - a recruiter for Vaco and serious social media bad-ass - together to discuss some of the points Brandon brought out. I shuld probably point out that while Scott is a recruiter, he is not your typical recruiter. He regularly talks about the shortcomings of his industry and he works to make things better.

As always, you can listen to this latest episode either via the in-page player, by downloading the mp3 or by subscribing to their feed.

People have different opinions in what they think is the best web programming language for certain tasks. Speed, ease of use, flexibility, learning curve, popularity and feature list are a few criteria you can use in "judging" a programming language.

He notes that, while PHP is a powerful tool to write web applications in, it is by no means the only (or best) way to do it for all situations. He suggests, thought, that for the longevity of your business and the future of your applications as a whole, you go with something like PHP that has a good solid community and is in constant development to make it and its features better.

A framework is usually thought of or defined as an underlying structure. You could imagine a wooden structure, sort of a skeleton when a house is being built. This provides a guide, structure and flow to build the house. A programming framework pretty much does the same thing. A programming framework provides for a structured and disciplined programming which results in a more consistent output from a programming team.

He talks more about some of the things that come with framework use like the utility and "housekeeping" code as well as code you know has been tested and used by other projects successfully (especially with something like the Zend Framework. Remember, though, there's bad that comes with them - a possible steep learning curve and overhead that could be caused by using the tools it gives you badly.

Consider i do not have wide experience programming with ASP.NET though i on the past used the Microsoft .NET framework. This is what i think are PRO and the CONS of both, lets consider ASP.NET 4.0 without MVC and PHP 5.3 without any framework.

Some of the pros of PHP include its low learning curve and that it's multiplatform with cons being things like performance issues and that it's more web-centric than some other languages. ASP.NET's pros include its inherent use of the .NET framework and the tools available for it with cons being that it's not Open Source, you need a Windows license to use it and that fewer web hosting providers support it.

Alright bloggers, web surfers and simple web enthusiasts, we've got some fascinating news for you all. Yes, Internet community can't stop buzzing about the forthcoming release of the new version of #1 blogging software '" WordPress 3.0. [...] The official release is scheduled for May 2010 but now we have opportunity to mark the major advantages that this release will bring.

They list a few of the major enhancements that'll happen in the new release including:

• a built-in multi-user option
• custom post types
• a new default design/theme
• and changes related to security concerns

You can find out more about this upcoming release from this post to the man WordPress blog.

Sometimes I've seen people say PHP is a bad first language, because it teaches bad programming habits. But is this actually true at all? Often those who say that don't really like PHP themselves either, many times because of equally untrue reasons.

They argue both sides of the situation, mentioning what could make for a good first language, why PHP is a "nearly perfect" fit for it and some arguing points for the other side as to why PHP isn't the best option.

After an email out of the blue from someone at Packt publishing, here's a review of "Object-Orientated Programming with PHP5" I don't think I've done a book review before, so apologies in advance if it's not structured in any logical manner.

He's broken it up into a few lists to make it very straight forward and easy to see if it's the book for you - the pros, the cons, the contents of the book and a random code sample (this one showing the Decorator pattern in action).