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Build 6 of the Xyster Framework has been released. Tons of new features both in core and in incubator.

Please head over to the Xyster site and grab yourself a copy.

Build 5 of the Xyster Framework has been released. This version includes more features in Xyster_Container and various other slight modifications. You'll also find a bit more user documentation.

Please head over to the Xyster site and grab yourself a copy.

Note that this version of the framework uses features in Zend Framework 1.5 which hasn't been released yet. You can get a snapshot of ZF from their download page.

Build 4 of the Xyster Framework has been released. Most notable new feature: Xyster_Container, the dependency injection package.

Please head over to the Xyster site and grab yourself a copy.

Note that this version of the framework uses features in Zend Framework 1.5 which hasn't been released yet. You can get a snapshot of ZF from their download page.

Inversion of Control is one of those design patterns that once you "get it", you'll start seeing that it can be applied basically all over the place. It's the lesson of "tell; don't ask".

I've spent a good deal of time this weekend with the Xyster incubator; creating a Dependency Injection package called Xyster_Container based almost entirely on PicoContainer. The good: PHP method signatures are much more simple than Java's; only one constructor per class. The bad: PHP scalar method parameters are not typed, so you cannot use ReflectionParameter::getClass() on them. This first release won't support the LifeCycle capabilities or annotations, but at least annotations support is planned (remember, it's still in the incubator).

This Dependency Injection package will be used to replace/redo the Xyster_Application package. You'll read in Fowler's article (linked above) about the Service Locater concept, which was what Xyster_Application was intended to be. While the Locater might still be done, I think it's more important that application services can be injected into the classes that use them.

For now, read up on Dependency Injection. You'll wonder where it's been all your life.

The third build of the Xyster Framework is available for immediate (ab)use.

Please head over to the Xyster site to grab yourself a copy.

The second build of the Xyster Framework is available for mass consumption.

Please head over to the Xyster site to grab yourself a copy.

The API docs should be current, but the user manual won't be up until tomorrow or Friday.