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Code Igniter Framework; Could it be love?

I have come across an open source project recently called Code Igniter, a framework built for PHP4 and PHP5. I know, jeeez another f@!&* framework. I too have had my fair share of wasting many hours researching dozens of frameworks only to find out that they have way too much or too little features for what I was looking for. But, this is the first one I have come across that I feel focuses on being lightweight and robust. Most frameworks these days seem to forget about the lightweight part over time and seem to get carried away with the robust portion usually trying to be everything to everybody. In other words it actually feels like a framework and not a bloated CMS calling itself a framework.

The original creator and main developer of this project is Rick Ellis who happens to be CEO of pMachine which is the company that offers ExpressionEngine which happens to be what this blog your reading is powered by. (did you catch that?) Now beware this is literally a framework and you will need PHP experience with a basic understanding of the MVC design pattern. You also better be open to a new way of thinking when it comes to the clever usage of URI’s Rick has incorporated into the navigation model, but once you get it down you grow accustomed to it pretty fast.

Currently as of this blog posting, Code Igniter is at version 1.4.1 which is still in it’s infancy, now I’m not hinting that there are any problems using it now for live websites. I’m only warning that, like with most frameworks, it could bloat overtime. But the one thing I do feel good about at the moment is that Rick keeps a tight reign on the development and release schedule which up front sounds contradictory in terms of an open source project, but I have found that sometimes too many chefs in the kitchen is also the biggest downfall of many open source projects. To ease any concern you may have of not being able to be a part of the ongoing development process that Rick listens to the forums religiously and incorporates 98% of the serious development additions and bug fixes submitted by the user base. And there are plans in the works to streamline the development and open it up a little more with a much needed SVN repository as well as a bug tracking system.

So now I’m officially down to 2 frameworks in my toolbox: Code Igniter which supports PHP4 and PHP5 and the ominous Zend Framework that supports PHP5 only. Since most of my clients are still on PHP4 as well as a majority of hosting providers you can guess what I’ll be using for awhile.

Well, what are you waiting on, close your editor for a few minutes and go check it out:
Code Igniter

FWAS & the Science Museum Moon Party

Tonya and I attended the Moon Party put together by the Fort Worth Astronomical Society and the Science Museum. It started off a little hazy in the beginning but as the night went on the haze slowly disappeared. It was a good turnout overall, the Miss Texas pageant was also taking place next door, so we had a lot of people drop by to take a peek through the scopes after the pageant was over.

We would like to give a big thanks to Doug for taking the time to collimate our scope, Louise for the chow, and Loren for hanging with us until the end.

The first pic is of Tonya setting up for the event and the second is of Loren, Doug, and Tonya at the end of the party.

Trying to grasp Chinese…

The 2008 Summer Olympics are going to be held in China and since I’ve never been to an Olympic event before. We are going to try and see if it will be possilbe for us to get away and attend.

I’ve always been interested in the Chinese language and history and have taken on the daunting task of trying to grasp the language. I have delved into many different books recently and have come to the conclusion the best path to begin on this journey would be to start learning to read Chinese characters. I picked up a book “Beginning Chinese Reader PART 1” and love it. I am currently able to recognize up to about 100 characters so far, but have a long road ahead.

I will try and setup a language category on my blog soon to keep track of my progress and offer any useful links or downloads that I can for anyone to enjoy. There is currently a group meetup in the DFW area DFW Chinese Meetup they will be meeting this Saturday, July 8th at 3pm. It will be my first attendance.

Moon Madness Star Party

This Saturday, July 8th is the Museum Star Party in Fort Worth. It is Moon Madness night and of course the main feature of the night is the Moon. Sunset is at 8:40 PM. Tonya and I will be there with our new Telescope, hope to see you there!

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