Library & frameworks, noob question

[glendenning.j]

Hi All,

 

I've dived into learning php, still learning basics.

 

I understand conceptually what php libraries and frameworks are & some fo the benefits, but I dont know how they relate to a finshed site.

 

Also, what is a library, is it one of the folders within the framework? Why are they called libraries?

 

Also, lets say I use codeignitor to create a dynamic site, and I have code in each of the "libraries", what do I do with my code once complete?

 

Does one simply cut and paste the code from the libraries to my webserver, or does special software exist that I have to upload to my webserver?

 

Pardon my noob questions but we all have to start somewhere!

 

Thanks,

 

Tubs

[son0fhobs]

This won't be the most thorough answer because I have to run in a minute, but...

 

Think of it as a bundle of pre-made functions and classes.  That's kind of what they are actually.  So rather than writing your own functions from scratch, you can work with those functions.  If you never reference them, you really don't need them.

 

Treat it as an external php file.  Upload to the server and do and include(), require(), include_once() or require_once().  I forget which is best for libraries, but you can look that up easily enough.

 

Libraries can be folders in a framework, or separate entities on their own.  I'm using prototype, and scriptaculous at the moment which are to javascript libraries.

 

If you want a more thorough and complete answer, I'm sure you can find it with a few google searches.  But that's the gist of it. 

 

I haven't used enough frameworks to really give a good answer, but have you googled for it? 

 

It took a bit, but since I couldn't give a good answer, I thought I'd look it up. Here's a good article: noupe.com/php/discussing-php-frameworks.html

 

Cheers!

[son0fhobs]

Another great article explaining frameworks:

onextrapixel.com/2010/05/24/an-overview-of-php-framework-guides-for-developers/

[vinesto]

Great information.. Very useful.. Thanks!