Tony Bibbs has posted about the upcoming DC PHP Conference (happening June 2nd through the 4th in Washington, DC) and his talk "Fed Up of Framework Hype?"

For those of you that occasionally browse these pages you may recall a prior post on the subject. Given there was a bit of interest in that post I turned it into a talk for this conference.

He includes the abstract for his talk that covers the Framework of the Day that seems to be happening in PHP and what really lies behind each new release. He will talk on how to evaluate a framework for your use and how to not get wowed by the Next Big Thing that comes along and claims to do it all better and simpler than any before.

You can find out more about the DC PHP Conference from their website and registration is still open for those that want to reserve their spot.

Tony Bibbs is fed up with the framework hype that's been going on in the PHP community for a while now and has posted about some of this frustration on his blog. More specifically, how there seems to be this misconception as to the point of them and their place in the web development world.

What nobody seems to want to talk about is the fact that frameworks, be it in PHP, Java, .NET or even Python, have a bunch of valueless rhetoric around them. Their value is often discussed in terms of coolness and how easy it was to learn. If you are talking to a manager-type, balding, high strung, concerned about his or her budget you will quickly learn they could care less. Their focused is on the business. The bottom line. Achieving results. So let's talk in tangible terms on how a framework in any language should be evaluated and how it directly addresses the needs of the business.

He goes on to talk about how frameworks can't fix things like "crappy software development practices" or how they can't immediately save you time (but can in the long run). Most importantly, though, he's compiled a list of things you should keep an eye out for when starting the move towards a framework for your development. The list includes things like:

• Does the framework fit well with your SDLC? Do you even have an SDLC?
• Does your framework allow your better developers to excel and innovate new ways to address a business problem? If the framework only handcuffs your better talent you may find keeping them around near impossible.
• Can you choose not to use parts of your framework to work around performance bottlnecks? As an example, some frameworks don't even give you the ability to issue raw SQL to the database? Using tools like an ORM adds a layer of abstraction that slows performance and sometimes you will need to squeeze out every bit of performance you can. Your framework should facilitate this, not hinder it.

Check out the rest of the post for the other four on the list.

In his latest post today, Chris Shiflett takes a good look at Ruby on Rails from the perspective of a PHP developer to see what all of the fuss is about.

I'm glad to see all of the hype surrounding Ruby on Rails lately. I've always been an advocate of open source software, and Ruby (particularly Ruby on Rails) is yet another feather in the cap. I'm not afraid to say it - I'm glad Rails exists.

I do think it's good to maintain some perspective, and some Ruby fans are more than a bit overzealous. Ruby on Rails is a niche technology, and although all signs indicate that its popularity is growing rapidly, it's a bit premature to be thinking that it will dethrone existing technologies.

He goes on, mentioning that he doesn't see Rails as a direct competitor to PHP, rather two technologies that have the flexibility/power to do the same jobs well. There are "camps" for both sides, but really, as Chris puts it:

It's also important to realize that excitement is subtly different than popularity. Excitement is trendy.

He lists a few sites built in both, noting that, of the popular sites out there, things seem pretty equal. He also notes that, despite what language you're using, the real key is that it takes a good developer to write a good application, regardless of the language...