Frameworks and a New Look

Using my Dolibarr
1

Hi, my name is Gino Rivera from Puerto Rico.

I have reviewing some ERP systems out there, and I find this one very interesting. Is not quite complete has OpenBravo, but has a future.
Good job, for this excellent software.

But I’m a software developer, mostly in PHP. I would like to help you guys.

I have great knowledge in PHP, MySQL, Posgre, AJAX, Web Desing, Digital Art, & ect.

I had looked to you code, and I have some suggestions to say:

  1. Why reinvent the wheel: You can use Framework’s to make things more easier like the use of CodeIgniter (http://codeigniter.com/).
    * CodeIgniter is a powerful PHP framework with a very small footprint, built for PHP coders who need a simple and elegant toolkit to create full-featured web applications.

This can help you a lot, letting you to focus on the logic of the application.

  1. And for the GUI you can use: Ample SDK (http://www.amplesdk.com/) to deal with the GUI of the application.
    * Ample SDK is a unique piece of software that runs transparently in the layer between web browser and your application. While running it provides the Logic of your application with standard cross-browser access to the User Interface.

This means that you can separate the:
* Logic Developer Team
* Designer Developer team

If your vision goes farder you will that you will not be the only developer on the application, instead you will have more backing up you applications by using this so called Framework.

I can help integrate this two frameworks into you Dolibarr, making it more robust, and easy to develop.

I noticed that you write the HTML code into the print function, why not separate the HTML code, and the Logic.

If you wish I can help you with this.

Thanks, and good job by the way.

2

Using a framework or not. This is a no end debate…
In most cases, we don’t need heavy framework just because PHP and the Dolibarr micro libraries are already a framework.
Dolibarr already use a MVC logic but instead of having the V and C in separate files making code very difficult to understand, they are both in same php page.
First there is the C logic (after the comment /* Actions ) and then there is the V logic (after the comment /* View ) action.
We already try to use heavy framework inside Dolibarr but in fact, this has reduced the numbers of developers, code was not so simple as when using micro-framework, the framework reduce amount of possible things to do, above all about technical system features, adding a framework need to learn something more, and experience show that time to solve problems and add features has increased with a framework compared to API, instead of decreased.
So for the moment, we’re very happy with the choice to make things as simple as possible and we prefer using API and libraries with best practices than an heavy framework.
I know a lot of “school PHP developers” does not agree with that but this is what we learned after several year of experiences and making change on 500 000 lines of code is not so simple…
So, the core of Dolibarr will stay like this but new modules that add their own pages are free to use frameworks of their choice of course, and future is having mode features by adding external modules instead of enhancing Dolibarr.

1 Like
3

That’s ok, I respect that.

But, at least you can atract more user and developer, by enhancing the appeal of the application.

Take care.
Anyway, good job!.

4

Sure.
But this is a difficult work and this need good graphics designer we miss.
Help is welcome for that…