Top 5 PHP Frameworks of 2012 : A Guide to PHP Frameworks

Developers are always in a search for a Framework which works best with their needs and comfort level. While selecting a Framework also involves considering various parameters like Security, ease of use, and yes, Functionality with ease! With so many Frameworks, it is actually a little tough to decide which Framework to use for your projects. Here, I would like to give a try and list the Top 5 PHP Frameworks which I think are the most popular in PHP developers.

1. CodeIgniter Framework

The most favorite PHP framework is CodeIgniter. Its main features include Ease-of-Use, more power as compared to other Frameworks like Zend and Cake, and less time in developing your projects. CodeIgniter framework is the best when it comes to keeping the developer concentrated in functionality instead of writing codes. It includes most commonly used rich libraries for tasks that are commonly needed by developers. I will suggest you to start your PHP work with this framework.

Download: www.codeigniter.com/downloads/

Know more on their official website: www.codeigniter.com/

2. Symfony Framework

Symfony is the framework for PHP based web projects. The main job Symfony does is to help you with easy creation and maintenance of your web applications. It aims to replace the repetitive tasks in coding, and obviously, very easy maintenance of your web application.

Download: www.symfony.com/download
Read more at their official website: www.symfony.com/

3. Zend Framework

Zend is a powerful PHP Framework which is secure, reliable, and allows Web 2.0 web applications. Zend Framework's important feature is that it is enrich with APIs from Google, Amazon, Yahoo!, Flickr etc.
It is powerful, fast and scalable for any type of PHP projects.

Download: http://framework.zend.com/downloads/latest
Read more on their official site: http://framework.zend.com/\

4. CakePHP Framework

CakePHP is another popular PHP framework for web application development. It follows the principle of MVC and helps to extend most aspects of your Web Application. It is also simple to learn and keeps the entire code consistent and logical.

Download: https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/zipball/2.2.3
Official website: www.cakephp.org/

5. Yii Framework

Yii Framework is a kind of next-generation PHP framework. It is a bit faster than CodeIgniter and Zend Frameworks. It starts with a fully functional website and impressive website already running, which you can configure and change according to your needs. It has many features which are very easy to do. That's the reason popularity of Yii Framework is on the rise nowadays.

Download: http://www.yiiframework.com/download
Official Website: www.yiiframework.com/

Startup Troubles: Listing and Selecting which Programs and Services should be run when Window starts up

A friend of mine today had this problem in her Windows 7 system, where whenever the system boots up and she logs in to the system, the system hangs up in a maximum of 2 minutes. I have myself encountered many such cases before on my own system too, but luckily, got through them by this and that. So I thought I should now write a post on these "this and that" things.

Talking about the reason why this happens, I will say there is some conflict between some programs, or a startup program has some trouble in getting launched. Also, if you have more than two Antivirus programs, this is the most likely reason for the freezing up of your computer system. Both the antiviruses get into a conflict, and thus end up freezing up the computer! That's why it is always recommended to use just one Antivirus program in a computer. If your computer starts up, but freezes or hangs after Windows loading in a minute or 2 or even less(mostly less than a minute), most probably you can get rid of this trouble by changing the Startup Programs.

Troubleshoot Hanging or Freezing Problems when computer starts up or Windows loads

As you won't be able to see the startup entries as the system will hang before you get there, you need to switch to "Safe Mode" and then continue the following steps. First of all, Press F8 before Windows logo appears, and just after your BIOS information is displayed to start the "Safe Mode". You have time of about one or two seconds to press F8, so Good Luck! After that, you will see options of how you want to load the windows: Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, Safe Mode with Command Prompt, Start Windows Normally, and so on.
Just select "Safe Mode" and press enter.

Now after logging into this mode, click Start and type msconfig and click on "Startup" tab(For Windows 7). In case you're using the good old Windows, please visit here to see Startup Programs. In the window that will open, you will be seeing the programs that start up when Windows loads. Remove/disable (prefer disabling it, so that you're safe in worst case) the entries that you think might be causing the trouble. In case you're not sure about an entry, just let me know its name and I will suggest you what to do with it.

In case you have two antiviruses, or had recently installed some program after which this trouble started occurring, go to Control Panel and Add/Remove Programs and Uninstall the program or any one Antivirus program.

What are Startup Programs? How to view them in your Windows system

What is a Startup Program in simple words?

Starting with the point, a Startup Program is a software (yeah, we call it program too!) which is loaded into the memory of your computer whenever Window loads up. These programs are loaded just when you successfully sign in to your account and Windows starts(they are the reason your cursor shows rotations and animations).

Are Startup Programs bad guys?

No no, these are not bad things! These programs are of great utility, and help us a lot in loading required programs into the RAM before we need them, thus saving our time and increasing a user's productivity. But yes, as there are two faces of a coin, these programs also end up slowing your system's booting. Sometimes, users have to wait for some seconds before they can start using their computer because startup programs are being loaded into the memory and during this time, if a user opens any other program, it will only result in more slowdown of the system and complicate the processes.

How to Control Startup Programs?

Before you know how to control the startup programs, you should understand this line carefully: "You might end up messing up with your system if you disable/remove anything that you see!"
Nice warning, right?
There are some really crucial services and programs which load whenever Windows starts, and you really can not afford to mess up with them, or you will end up with a broken system, and in worst case, you will have to re-install windows. So, you have to be careful what programs and services are you changing.
TO view the list of programs and services which load whenever your Windows loads, follow these steps:

For Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows 98
1. Go to Start -> Run
2. Type "msconfig" and press enter.
3. In the window that will open, select Startup, and you have the list of startup programs in front of you!

For Windows 7
1. Click Start
2. Type "msconfig" and press Enter.
3. In the System Configuration window, click on Startup tab, and you have the list!

General Advice on Which Programs You can Safely Remove

In case your system is getting slow because of Startup Programs, I suggest you to consider removing Update Programs(like some media player updater, this updater, that updater), and programs that you know what they do, but you rarely use it. This way, the startup programs won't eat up your memory, and will instead be helpful to you.

In case you need advice on which program to keep or delete, just let me know the program name, and I will be more than happy to help you out!

How To Remove or Uninstall Babylon Toolbar from Web Browsers

Continuing the crackdown on sick toolbars that just get installed in our systems without your permission, it is Babylon's turn today. These toolbars get installed when a user installs a freeware which has bundled Babylon Toolbar with it. Most probably, the freeware software providers get paid for bundling Babylon toolbar in the packages. The thing Babylon toolbar does is it changes your default Search Engine Provider on all web browsers and your searches are then done by Babylon's own search engine, from which they might be making profits. But, why get installed in such a creepy way without user's permission?? Anyway, lets get back to our point. As Babylon doesn't get installed from Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs window, you'll have to manually remove it from anything it has infected.

Let's start with getting back our Firefox browser:

Babylon Toolbar stays as an Add-On of Firefox even after getting uninstalled from a system. Uninvited guest, right?
Follow these steps to remove it from Firefox and reset your browser:
1. Click on top-left button of Firefox.

2.Select Help > Troubleshooting Information
3. Click "Reset Firefox" on the screen.

4. Update your search preferences and you're done!


You should also delete files of the toolbar. To do this, go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\extensions\ffxtlbr@babylon.com, and delete the ffxtlbr@babylon.com folder.

Remove Babylon Toolbar from Google Chrome

1. Click on wrench menu on top-right.
2. Click on Extensions tab, and remove Babylon and any related extension from there.
3. Click on Basics tab, and change your Search Engine preferences. Make sure to delete Babylon's "Search the Web(Babylon)" from there.
4. Now change your Start up or New page settings.

If you still can't remove it, let me know and I'll be more than happy to help you.