The Zend Framework has a flexible architecture that lets you build modern web applications and web services easily. The MVC components make the maintenance and testing of your applications easier. However, it is not only an MVC framework for developers. It also provides an easy-to-use high-quality component library that is designed to be used the way you want, picking up specific components without requiring the use of whole framework.

It's easy to get started and produce a powerful and professional looking web site when you've got this book to hand. Taking you through a real-life application, it covers the major Zend Framework components, as well as throwing light on the best practices and design issues faced when building complex MVC applications.

This book takes you through detailed examples as well as covering the foundations you will need to get the most out of the Zend Framework. From humble beginnings you will progress through the book and slowly build upon what you have learned previously. By the end, you should have a good understanding of the Zend Framework, its components, and the issues involved in implementing a Zend Framework based application.

What you will learn from this book?

• Explore the features of Zend Framework's MVC architecture
• Learn about designing and implementing an MVC application
• Avoid common mistakes made when first learning an MVC framework
• Test your applications with the popular PHPUnit framework
• Interact with a database using Zend_Db and Zend_Db_Table
• Secure your application using Zend_Acl and Zend_Auth
• Optimize your application using caching and other performance tips
• Add administrative functionality to your applications

Approach

This book is an example-driven tutorial that takes you through the process of building Model-View-Controller-based web applications. You will create and develop a storefront application. It also covers common mistakes and best practices that will be helpful for developers.

Who this book is written for?

This book is for PHP web developers who want to get started with Zend Framework. If you are already using this framework, you will learn how to use it in the best way and produce better applications.

Basic knowledge of Object Oriented design will be helpful.