Recently, Cormac posted this look at a method for lazy loading on variables in an object with the magic __get method.

I used the magic method __get() to load the images into the [Product] object when they were needed. __get() is called whenever something tries to access a variable that is not set or publically accessible, so basically I used that to load the images whenever some other piece of code tried to access Product::images.

He includes a quick bit of code that fires off an internal private method for the class that loads up the images. In his example, if they're already loaded, it never gets called.

According to this new post on the Zend Developer Zone, its parent company, Zend, has launched their Zend Product Online Documentation Center:

You know when you reach that point when you just don't remember where to configure your Zend Platform Events, how to set up your Tunneling, or what that Zend Core extension does? Well the documentation team at Zend have come up with a way to make all Zend product documentation as easily available as possible, so you can all benefit from our wisdom and experience.

The documentation center is a resource for all things Zendy - information on their products made searchable and easy to browse.

Want to try out the next major version of Delphi for PHP? Paul Gregg is looking for volunteers to be testers for the latest version of this CodeGear project.

CodeGear is looking for additional beta testers for the next major version of Delphi for PHP.

Those interested should check out this page and fill in the application to become a tester (just name, email address, experience using PHP tools and how much time you could devote to testing).

The Zend Developer Zone has posted the latest episode of their PHP Abstract series highlighting developers from all over the web. This time, though, it's a little different. This episode is an interview with Aviv Katz of Zend.

Today, we are going to do something a little different. While I was at ZendCon 07, I had the opportunity to sit down with fellow Zender, Aviv Katz. Aviv is the product manager of Zend Core and Zend Network. [...] Zend is a very distributed company, the downside of that however, is that a lot of us don't see each other during the course of a year. So when I was offered the opportunity to talk to Aviv I naturally jumped at it.

Cal also warns listeners ahead of time that it's more about a certain product than it is about Aviv.

The usual three methods of listening are there - right on the page, through a direct download and via the podcast's feed in your favorite aggregator.

DynamicWebPages.de has pointed out a new offering for the German PHP community - Zend's ZendOne video channel provding information on Zend's products, PHP development, training information and business-related information.

While the focus in the Product channel is on the Zend Platform, the Development channel contains information (videos and/or announcements), so far, on the Zend Framework. On the Training channel, there's been a few sessions announced (including a presentation on SimpleXML) while the Business channel is still empty.

Be sure to check out their main events page for updates to each of the four categories. All sessions will be in German.

The Builder.au website has a new article about Zend's new struggles to find their business model in an open source world.

Open-source software company Zend Technologies, hoping to double its revenue this year, says it will narrow its focus to big business and Web 2.0-style start-ups, according to incoming CEO Harold Goldberg.

The article talks about the obvious routes (selling products to large facilities, governments, etc) but also in partnerships (IBM) and other yet to be discovered paths.

The Zend Developer Zone has posted this month's Zend Newsletter for those wanting to keep up on all things Zend-ish.

They have kindly allowed me to republish the most recent issue here for your enjoyment. If you want to read it on a regular basis though you are going to have to subscribe. So take a moment and head over to MyZend, login (or register) and on the preferences panel you'll find the checkbox to subscribe. Go ahead, we'll wait.

This edition is just a preview of all of the news that Zend provides each month on its activities, events, product updates, updates to the DevZone, and offers promotions you might want to be aware of.

As Cal mentions, though, you'll need to sign up to get future releases of the newsletter - they won't be posted over on the Zend Developer Zone.

According to this new post on his blog, Ivo Jansch is announcing that he and the rest of Ibuildings are going to be the Dutch representatives for Zend.

This means that we are going to support the Dutch PHP community with the entire Zend product range, training and support offerings. This is a big step for us, and I think it is a great reward for having provided professional PHP development services over the last years.

Obviously, everyone's excited at the announcement, and here's to hoping only the best for all involved.