I certainly like having a standard interface.

I like Zend_db and when I can’t do something easily – I use a vanilla SQL query as in the article.

My issue with any abstraction is that you have to learn another language on top of what you already know; when sometimes it might be just as easy to cobble something together with the basic tools available in the standard library +- modules yourself. Same goes for glorious CMS’s that just spit out a bit of HTML – wouldn’t plain HTML suffice?

I’m staring at a popular php framework right now – and to me it feels like it’s getting in the way of me coding, rather than helping me.

For me it’s a case of how quick/intuitive/useful the tool is to develop with and learn, will it save me time in the long run, and can it be easily added to my project /tool chain with little fuss.

PHP programmers must know how SQL even those simple “INSERT INTO…”…
Real database abstraction layers hide a lot of SQL.

What I preach for is “data-access abstraction layer”:

PDO provides a data-access abstraction layer, which means that, regardless of which database you’re using, you use the same functions to issue queries and fetch data. PDO does not provide a database abstraction; it doesn’t rewrite SQL or emulate missing features. You should use a full-blown abstraction layer if you need that facility.

On database abstraction layer they say in the manual “if you need that facility”…

Have you ever thought if you really-really-really need it ?

On small projects – it doesn’t add value… they’re small… you will finish them in time anyway.
On big projects – it doesn’t add value… an abstraction layer brings overhead…

Have fun !

I totally agree, I have his book on High Performance MySQL. But when I saw the post making its rounds last week, 4 years to the day, I figured it was time to address it- this time with a spin on best practices, Zend_Db, and patterns in mind. You should read all the way through, then render your opinion.

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while, but Jeremy’s post gave me an opportunity to provide an alternate argument to the usefulness of Abstraction Layers, as well as give insight into the myriad of way one could use Zend_Db, and the paradigms of programming it fits within.

Many developers tend to acquire and all-or-none mindset, and I am simply trying to convey that its ok to both “drink the ZF kool-aid” as well as use the lower level extension to do work. Heck, use elements of CakePHP, Symfony, or sprinkle some Django (python), Rails (ruby), or Ant (Java) into a project.

If its a tool that’s been validated, tested, and generally considered a “best-practice” kinda tool, use it- and Be Effective.