symfony: PHP doesn’t have to be crap… … and how we used it to bring Web 2.0 to Edge Hill University Michael Nolan www.michaelnolan.co.uk blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/webservices

Coming up… Edge Hill University and Me Frameworks are the future PHP Pros and Cons symfony How we’re using it Some time for questions – maybe about 25 minutes…

Edge Hill University and Me

Frameworks are the future

PHP Pros and Cons

symfony

How we’re using it

Some time for questions – maybe about 25 minutes…

Edge Hill University Established 1885 University status in 2006 8160 full time students Centrally located… in Ormskirk! Web is important

Established 1885

University status in 2006

8160 full time students

Centrally located… in Ormskirk!

Web is important

Edge Hill University & Me Small centralised team Develop, Content, Design, Manage Web Applications Project Manager At Edge Hill for ~1 year

Small centralised team

Develop, Content, Design, Manage

Web Applications Project Manager

At Edge Hill for ~1 year

Why use a framework? Work around differences in environments Write to defined coding standards Templating More maintainable code Don’t reinvent the wheel

Work around differences in environments

Write to defined coding standards

Templating

More maintainable code

Don’t reinvent the wheel

PHP Pros and Cons Good Cheap hosting Developers for hire Stable Libraries Support Documentation Bad Bad reputation Spaghetti code Amateurish Inconsistent syntax Reinventing the wheel

Good

Cheap hosting

Developers for hire

Stable

Libraries

Support

Documentation

Bad

Bad reputation

Spaghetti code

Amateurish

Inconsistent syntax

Reinventing the wheel

Introducing symfony PHP 5 only Excellent documentation XSS MVC Routing ORM – Propel or Doctrine i18n / l10n

PHP 5 only

Excellent documentation

XSS

MVC

Routing

ORM – Propel or Doctrine

i18n / l10n

Admin Generator

Admin Generator

Debugging Tools

Plugins Forum Blog (Simple) CMS User Management Atom/RSS Feed mangling

Forum

Blog

(Simple) CMS

User Management

Atom/RSS Feed mangling

Key Advantages Write less code More time for business rules Documentation symfony 1.0 maintained for a long time

Write less code

More time for business rules

Documentation

symfony 1.0 maintained for a long time

Putting it into practice

Edge Hill University 2.0 Word of mouth – user reviews More collaborative tools – everyone can have their say What is a trusted source? Informal communications

Word of mouth – user reviews

More collaborative tools – everyone can have their say

What is a trusted source?

Informal communications

Trends 3,344 members in Edge Hill Facebook Network Only 25% of students use our email accounts No sense of privacy or protection of identity

3,344 members in Edge Hill Facebook Network

Only 25% of students use our email accounts

No sense of privacy or protection of identity

“ Everything you can do I can do better ” Everything you provide I can (usually!) get for free

“ 100MB inbox?! I can get twenty times that for free… …and it always works! ”

Edge Hill University is in the middle of nowhere, has p*ss poor student nightlife and is full of arrogant d*ckheads

We’re not afraid – we embrace it!

Let the students do the talking Open up areas for student discussion Aggregate content from across the University Provide feeds for use elsewhere Allow students the choice to use our services or their own

Open up areas for student discussion

Aggregate content from across the University

Provide feeds for use elsewhere

Allow students the choice to use our services or their own

Lessons SSO is a real PITA Unit and functional tests don’t get written if you don’t do them first Bugs happen – get over it Trust the students; they usually do the right thing

SSO is a real PITA

Unit and functional tests don’t get written if you don’t do them first

Bugs happen – get over it

Trust the students; they usually do the right thing

Find out more about symfony www.symfony-project.com Complete book released under GFDL Forum – helpful community Wiki – plugins, user documentation, translations Revamp coming soon, apparently

www.symfony-project.com

Complete book released under GFDL

Forum – helpful community

Wiki – plugins, user documentation, translations

Revamp coming soon, apparently

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