Padraic Brady has posted part three in his look at making a blogging application with the Zend Framework. This time get gets down and gets into the code.

It's almost obligatory when introducing a new programming topic, that the author present the simplest possible example. Usually this means getting a programming language or framework to print "Hello World" to the screen. I'm going to be no different. So much for originality...

He shows how to set up everything, down to the Apache VirtualHost directive and hosts file to get the web server and localhost working correctly. He includes the code for the boostrap file and how to create your first controller (along with its view, of course).

In a new post Rob Allen takes a look at working with the Zend Framework, specifically with his Views. He presents his method for doing layouts in anticipation of the Zend_Layout package.

With Zend_Layout on the horizon, I've been looking at how to use it and it will remove the need for my own front controller plugin which I call SiteTemplate. As a result, I need to find a new home for the view customisation stuff I do in SiteTemplate.

He presents two options - one is a front controller that abstracts off the setup of the view before the Layout component gets a hold of it and the other places the creation of the view into the bootstrap file as a helper. He wants your input as to which method might better (or if there's something else you can think of).

In his latest blog post today, Felix Geisendörfer shares his "ultimate bootstrap technique" for CakePHP without having to render a page.

Ok, I shouldn't use such a buzz-headline, but I was very happy today, when I discovered a new way to bootsrap CakePHP wihout having to render a page. This is especially useful when you try to embed CakePHP in existing php apps (drupal, wordpress, ..., ?), or when you try to write unit tests for highly coupled classes such as Controllers or Models.

Basically, the technique involves tricking the Dispatcher into not rendering based on the $_GET values by making it think that it's being asked for the favicon.ico file.