Hi, I feel like I should answer your "anger" towards my opinion. First of all I consider PEAR to be bloated for the following reasons; it's a large library, it tries to cover a very general approach and please 99% of case one may encounter. It's exception system is overused and the overhead of it is not to be disregarded. Granted, PHP5 brings PEAR into a new light with it's new object model, but till recently, php4 was in place and it's object model made big class libraries quite a problem. Let's not forget there are few out there using php5 in production. I, for one, prefer to use highly specialezed libraries, which are designed for one purpose only and which are carefully coded to achive that purpose with maximum efficiency and as less overhead as possible. I think PEAR is a very good class library and it's code is very nice and well thought. I use the Log package of PEAR, which does not depend on the PEAR core and I am very happy with it. I don't deny it's usefullness nor do i contest it in any way, I simply prefer a different approach when building a project. If I were to compare PEAR with another well known library from the C++ world I would compare it with MFC and if I am to choose between smaller, leaner and meaner PHP libraries over PEAR then I will choose them just as I would choose ATL/WTL over MFC. It can be that development time may be a bit longer but the code quality will be better in my opinion and I for one value more code quality over a few hours of extra time. Btw! I do keep an eye on PEAR as I do on many other PHP libraries and I do monthly research about what's new and noteworthy in the PHP world. For example, when the issue of using a database layer and a templating engine came into the big picture, I tried both PEAR::DB and ADOdb as I tried PEAR::HTML_* and Smarty. I decided to use ADOdb and Smarty because they were smaller and faster. My decision was based on personal experience and not influenced by opinions expressed by others; of course I did take the time to see what others have to say but the decision was mine to make. I may as well have been wrong in making that decision but for now I am quite happy with it and I don't consider switching to PEAR as a better alternative. Catalin P.S. Please forgive me if my opinion offended you in any way. Matthew Weier O'Phinney wrote: > * Catalin Trifu <catalin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> : > >>I also tend to stay away from PEAR, which is kinda bloated for my >>taste, except the Log package. > > > <rant> > I hear that a lot on this list, and I don't understand the reasoning > behind such comments -- perhaps because nobody offers any reasoning, > only the opinion? > > I'm a PEAR user, and I've found the packages anything *but* bloated. > Granted, I only use a subset of PEAR, but that subset has made mycoding > easier. I use DB, Log, Mail, Mail_MIME, HTML_QuickForm, Cache_Lite, and > Pager daily; additionally, we use custom PEAR error handlers to catch > errors generated by these packages, log them, and display custom error > pages. If I'd had to write the functionality I have readily available in > these packages, I wouldn't have a job right now. They've helped me meet > numerous deadlines. > > If somebody could offer some *constructive* criticism of PEAR -- PEAR as > it is TODAY, not "3 years ago, when I last tried it" -- these comments > would have more weight. As it is, I feel they're just FUD based on > ignorance. > </rant> > -- PHP General Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
