Is Zend Framework Dead?

There has been quite a bit of discussion about the new open source framework known as Zend Framework lately. In this regard, many questions about how to choose a PHP framework have cropped up, thanks to its relatively young age. Many people are wondering whether it is dead, or if it is only on life support, but still. To make things easier on you, we are going to go over how Zend Framework works, as well as what the fuss is all about.

The Zend Framework was developed by Zend PHP Inc., a small Canadian company that specializes in developing cutting edge software solutions. Zend Framework is basically a MVC (model, view and update) framework written in PHP, which is originally a part of the Zend OS project. In short, Zend Framework is a way to turn PHP into an easy to use, flexible framework for creating PHP applications.

So, how do you know whether Zend Framework is dead, or if it is still around? Well, the short answer is: it is not. Zend Framework is not dead because the original authors still have the copyright on the original code. It is due to the fact that the latest version of Zend Framework is not supported on many platforms that it was designed for. For example, if you try to run it on Windows Vista, you will immediately be told that it is not supported and that you will need to upgrade to the latest version to run it. Thus, to answer the original question, yes, Zend Framework is not dead, it is only on life support.

How can you tell that it is still on life support, and how do you select one instead of the latest version? Easy, just test out Zend Framework on your current operating system. If you find that it works flawlessly, that is the latest version. If you find that it is not working at all, that is the previous version. If you get both of those results, then you probably have been told that Zend Framework is not compatible with your operating system, and therefore you should upgrade to a different platform.

Is Zend Framework Dead?

The main reason why Zend Framework is not compatible on certain operating systems is because of the licensing agreement between the original creator of Zend and Microsoft. As of this writing, Zend is under the copyright of Microsoft and is therefore not available for download on the masses’ operating systems. On the other hand, there are numerous commercial off-line distributors of Zend Framework who offer packages containing the latest versions of the framework as well as the source code in a number of different languages including PHP, Java, Ruby, and others. Therefore, by installing Zend with these packages, you can freely use Zend Framework on the various platforms that your server is setup to run on.

Another reason why Zend Framework is dead is because it was never designed to be an enterprise level development solution. While the original authors of Zend Framework created the package to be easy to use by the webmasters of today, it has been implemented as an enterprise level solution by many commercial organizations and frameworks. By being used in this way, many of the features of Zend Framework were written to be convenient for the large companies that are managing many different websites. Unfortunately, the same code that was written to be convenient is also written to be dead and difficult to use in applications that require a high level of customizations and development. By making Zend Framework difficult to use, many large companies who were depending on Zend Framework to help them build their websites are now having to write new software from scratch in order to remain competitive.

Finally, the other big reason why Zend Framework is dead is because many people started the project with the idea of creating a highly efficient web application framework that was capable of providing high quality and professional solutions for their customers. However, when the project was released in the market, there were many people who didn’t understand how advanced the technology was and they ended up buying the PHP version of the framework instead. In order for Zend Framework to be successful in the market, it had to be developed in line with the latest trends in web design and development. Many people started using it only to realize that the applications they have created with it don’t fit the modern requirements of their customers. This is why Zend Framework never made it to the list of leading frameworks in PHP.

In conclusion, the PHP community is in a transition period and the original PHP developers who worked on Zend Framework aren’t going to abandon the project. Instead, they are going to start working on the next great idea that will replace Zend Framework. The PHP community needs to realize that the goal is not just to port an existing PHP application to a different platform, but it is also about developing solutions that can provide solutions that we as a community cannot even think of.

Author
Recent Posts

Kyle Bartlett

Lead PHP Developer and Founder of ZF Snippets at Zf Snippets

Kyle Bartlett is a software developer and the mastermind behind ZF Snippets. With extensive expertise in PHP and a deep understanding of the Zend Framework, Kyle has dedicated his career to simplifying and enhancing the development process for web applications.

Is Zend Framework Dead?

Is Zend Framework Dead?

Further Reading: