In this new post to DZone.com, Giorgio Sironi kicks off a series that looks at reusable components in the PHP development world. In this first post of that series he looks at the Symfony console component .

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).

In this new post to Reddit, a poster asks for opinions on the Laravel framework:

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!

On NetTuts.com they're posted a new tutorial about using the Stripe service to accept credit cards on your site. Thanks to some handy libraries they provide, integration is a relatively simple process.

Until recently, accepting credit cards on a website was expensive and complicated. But that was before Stripe: a radically different and insanely awesome credit card processing company. Today, I'll show you how to start accepting cards in 30 minutes or less - without spending a dime.

They step you through the whole process you'll need to get the full flow set up:

• Install an SSL Certificate (on your server)
• Create an Account
• Create Your Payment Form
• Collect The Form Values
• Request a Token
• Create a Server-Side Script

Screenshots of the Stripe interface, HTML, Javascript and PHP code are all included - everything you need to make the simple card handling work. One of the keys to how Stripe deals with credit cards is that you provide it the card info, it gives you a token. Your app uses this to work with the card instead of storing the card information in your database (also making it more secure).

Iwan Luijks has a recent post to his blog trying to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about becoming a certified ZCE through Zend's testing. He also includes some of the benefits of having the certification to go with your name.

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.

In a new episode of the Voices of the ElePHPant podcast, Cal Evans has taken a break from the normal "Three Questions" format of the podcast so far and has instead posted an discussion about recruiters. Brandon Savage and Scott Gordon talk about the pros and cons of working with recruiters.

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.

Chris Roane has shared some of his thoughts on PHP, both the good and the bad (and its future) in the latest post to his blog.

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.

On the php|architect blog there's a recent post from Jayesh Wadhwani asking a question developers all over the world wonder every day - to use a framework or not to (and what's the benefit)?

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.

In a recent post to the phpslices.com blog there's a neutral comparison of PHP and ASP.NET based on features and a few of the common pros and cons each language has.

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.

On the Template Monster blog there's a recent post looking at some of the upcoming features in WordPress 3.0 that many WordPress site owners have eagerly been waiting for.

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.

New from NETTUTS.com today there's a new article listing out some of the tools of the trade, the frameworks that web development professionals use (and not just with PHP).

New web development frameworks, promising rapid development and easy deployment, are sprouting out at a more rapid pace than you can keep up. In the last article, we looked at the various factors you'd have to consider when deciding on a framework. Today, we are going to look at the various frameworks available for each facet of web development.

PHP tools that made the list include CakePHP, the Zend Framework, Kohana and Symfony. Frameworks from some of the other languages include ASP.NET, Ruby on Rails, jQuery and Blueprint.