Frameworks? (Zend / PEAR) (why use one, and which to use?)

[colombian]

Sometimes I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel when coding.

Be it data validation, classes, functions, etc.

 

I am considering making the switch to a framework. PEAR sounds OK - but doesn't seem very cohesive, and the code doesn't look very optimized (from the few samples I have seen through).

Zend sounds more powerful and cohesive (so it "seems" better to me).

Truth is - I know very little about these frameworks, and after reading through their respective sites, I didn't get a good feeling for what to expect.

 

I have been programming solo all the time, and never used pre-made packages - I am also fairly new to OO PHP - but I am starting to work with classes. But as classes become more complex, and so does the code to treat them - I feel like I am spending too much time debugging/creating code that these frameworks probably already have, and it will be thoroughly tested by many people. These way I may become more "agile" and focus strictly on the current application, and not all the extra stuff, like personalizing the CRUD.

 

I am looking for honest opinions of developers who have used these frameworks.

 

 

Thank you.,