Building an Application with Zend Framework
Introduction
In this mini-series on the Zend Framework, we will be exploring how to build an application using Zend framework. In this video, we will focus on installing Zend framework on a Windows machine using Composer.
What is Zend Framework?
Zend Framework is an MVC (Model View Controller) PHP framework that is widely used in enterprise-level applications. While it may be more challenging to learn compared to other frameworks like CakePHP or CodeIgniter, it offers immense power and flexibility. If you are looking to enhance your PHP skills, learning Zend Framework is definitely worth it.
Getting Started with Zend Framework
To get started, we will first navigate to the Zend Framework documentation. Click on the "Learn" link in the menu, then select "Reference Guide" and choose "Zend Framework". This will take us to a comprehensive manual that provides detailed instructions on creating an application using Zend.
While you can certainly read the documentation, I believe that watching a video tutorial can make the learning process easier. In this mini-series, we will be going through the process step-by-step and I will explain everything along the way.
Creating an Album Manager Application
Our application will be an album manager, where users can list, add, edit, and delete music albums. The album data will consist of three fields: ID, artist, and title. This is a basic CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) application that will serve as a great starting point for learning Zend Framework.
Installing Zend Framework on Windows using Composer
To install Zend Framework, we will be using a PHP dependency manager called Composer. Composer is a powerful tool that is not only used for installing Zend Framework but also for other frameworks like Laravel and Symphony.
To install Composer, we need to visit the official website. Head over to getcomposer.org and click on the "Getting Started" link. As we are using a Windows machine, we will select the "Installation - Windows" link. There, you will find a convenient installer that you can download and run.
During the installation process, you will have the option to install shell menus. For simplicity, I recommend leaving it at the default settings. Next, you will need to assign the PHP folder. If you are using XAMPP or WAMP, the PHP folder can usually be found at "C:\xampp\php" or "C:\wamp\php". If the folder does not appear in the list, simply browse to the correct location.
Once the installation is complete, make sure to close all windows and log out of your Windows account. Logging back in will allow you to access Composer from the command line.
To verify the installation, open a command prompt and type in "composer". If Composer is installed and working correctly, you will see a list of available commands.
Next, we need to run a command to set up our Zend application. Navigate to the folder where you want to install the application. In this example, we will use "C:\xampp\htdocs". Copy the command provided in the tutorial, but remove "PHP" and the dot before "php" so that it only says "composer". Paste the modified command into the command prompt and run it.
Make sure that your Apache server is running. If it is not, start it through the XAMPP control panel.
If everything is working correctly, the command will create the necessary files and folders for your Zend application. This process may take a minute or two.
Once the command completes, you can access your application by going to "localhost/myalbums/public" in your browser. You will see a boilerplate application, which serves as the default starting point for Zend Framework applications. While it may not have any special functionality, it confirms that Zend Framework has been successfully installed.
Creating a Virtual Host
To make accessing the application easier, we can set up a virtual host. The Zend Framework documentation provides instructions on how to do this.
To begin, we need to edit the httpd.conf file. On a Windows machine, you can find this file in "C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra". Open the file using a text editor.
Scroll down until you find the "vhosts" section. Copy the provided code and paste it into the file. Modify the "ServerName" to your desired hostname, such as "myalbums". Remove the "DocumentRoot" line and replace it with the path to your Zend application, for example, "C:\xampp\htdocs\myalbums\public".
Save the changes and close the file.
Next, we need to edit the hosts file. This file can be found in "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc". Open the file with a text editor.
At the end of the file, add a new line with the following content: "127.0.0.1 myalbums". Save the changes.
Restart the Apache server to apply the changes.
You can now access your Zend application by simply entering "http://myalbums" in your browser. This eliminates the need to remember the full localhost URL.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have successfully installed Zend Framework on your Windows machine using Composer. In the next video, we will dive into the code and start building our application. Stay tuned!
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