What is Kohana?
Kohana Framework
Kohana is a relatively new PHP Framework. The popular CodeIgniter has been a common choice for developers worldwide and sports a very active community. It has grown substancially, and while this may produce various benefits, it no longer satisfies the development of light-weight yet powerful web-based systems. Some of the core CodeIgniter developers recognized this and, taking the already powerful CodeIgniter, stripped it of the fat leaving behind only the powerful core. Kohana was born.
The Features
Kohana boasts a wealth of powerful features. Just reading through the content on its homepage should be a good enough indicator of the power sitting behind this incredible framework. Listed below are just some of the main features as mentioned on the website.
- Extremely lightweight and therefore incredible fast
- Detailed built-in debugging and profiling tools
- OOP (Object Oriented Programming) development
- Strict syntax making for cleaner, more understandable code
- Quick and easy installation and configuration
So Why Use Kohana?
Kohana keeps things simple. At one stage, there was a lot of talk about a framework called ‘Symphony’. Although powerful, it required users to basically learn a whole new language. Some frameworks fall into that trap which results in a steep learning curve and can act as a deterrent for newbies. Kohana keeps strictly to PHP. Its organization of file structure is intuitive. Generally complex tasks are abstracted out into simple lines of code. To summarize, the benefits are tremendous, but ultimately, its up to you to take the time to check it out and become familiar with it.
In Closing
At the end of the day, a developers preference comes down to what the work is that needs to be done, as well as past experience and training. It is always a little daunting to step into unknown territory and learn a new framework. One can only emphasis the simplicity (yet power) of Kohana. There is an every-growing dedicated Kohana community always willing to help out. Do yourself a favour and consider making Kohana your choice for some serious development.
Tags: Development, Framework, Kohana, OOP, PHP