IBM has posted the first part in a new series "Understanding the Zend Framework" today, focusing first on the basics of installing and coding a simple app.

We programmers are a paradoxically lazy lot. By that, I mean that we will spend hours, even days, creating something that allows us to complete a task in 30 seconds instead of five minutes. So perhaps the creation of the Zend Framework isn't much of a surprise. You mean you haven't heard of the Zend Framework? Don't worry -- you will.

This article gives you a high-level view of the Zend Framework, explaining its general concepts and preparing you for the rest of this "Understanding the Zend Framework" series, which goes into the details by chronicling the creation of a new online RSS/Atom feed reader. We won't do much coding in this article, but for the rest of the series, you should be familiar with PHP.

In part one, they take a broad overview of the following topics:

• The modules that make up the framework
• A summary (in the parts of the series) of the sample application they'll build
• Setting up the Framework
• A bit on the MVC pattern
• Some general coding guidelines to follow to keep with the "style" of the Framework