I wonder why there is no a single book for Laminas MVC development.
The documentation on site is very limited in terms for a newbie to understand how the basics work.
We need a professionally written book with good step by step instructions and detailed explanation of most critical components of the Laminas Framework.
Could we expect such a book in a near future?
Thank you
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There are some ebooks, but unfortunately the quality is often not right and they often stick rigidly to the getting started tutorial.
We don’t need a book, we need better documentation and new getting started tutorial, for everyone, not just book buyers. Writing a book or a documentation is both work.
But this means a lot of work and since the framework is a community-based project, help is needed.
And help can come in many forms. The easiest option is probably to donate.
Another option is, for example, to give feedback on how well or badly the tutorial went. Is something missing or unclear, what was easy or what should be improved.
If you have found a bug or want something more then an issue report is also a form of help.
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This can be a good place to start @codexknight7.
It is ok for someone familiar with framework, who is just looking for some functionalities for his code.
For someone new, this is just not practical, time and energy wasting work.
I would better chose another, better supported framework.
I learned Zend Framework 2 + 3 with Oleg 's examples. They were very helpful for getting startet with a PHP framework.
What is your expectation? Personally, I always find ready-to-use examples difficult because the learning effect is not there with such examples. It is important for a prospective developer to get to grips with the framework. Yes, sometimes it is even important that solutions are worked out by oneself. The Lamians framework offers you the right tools. Ultimately, you are the craftsman who must be taught to use these tools correctly.
The examples in the Lamians documentation are often simple and incomplete. Nevertheless, these examples can be useful. However, it must also be said that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
What are you missing? What would a perfect example or perfect documentation look like for you? It won’t work without investing time and skill. If you lack basic PHP know-how, it is always difficult to get started with a framework. Using a framework doesn’t mean you don’t have to learn the basic features of PHP first. So, if you 're a total beginner even the best framework documentation would not help you.
Thank you for your reply.
First, I am not a newbie to programming world. I have many years of experience with .NET and PHP.
So, my problem here is not to find an algorithm, but a way to write my code the proper way, following the best practices.
Second, I need a good blueprint to base on.
Here is a simple example.
I decided to write a book.
I can write, I master the language, the grammar, the stylistic techniques.
What I miss, is the knowledge on how a basic book must be structured.
So, I am going to meet some professional writers, and I ask their help.
What they do? They tell me stories on the single elements of the book:
The paragraphs must not exceed x words.
The table of contents is the main reference…
The annotations must be placed in the footer.
And so on.
Ok, good, I’ve got it. but I never saw a real book in my life.
Please show me how all these elements are tied together, show me how do they interact with each other, show me step by step how to create this book.
What do they respond?
It seems like you don’t know how to read and write, go to elementary school, they will help you.
The best practical example which works is an University course.
We see some theory, we see some related simple examples. We do some advanced homework.
The teacher shows us the best solution.
We learn progressively.
Something like that.
Hey there,
I don’t think I really understand your point. On the one hand, you say that you are an experienced developer. On the other hand, you demand a beginner’s course because you are not able to read the existing code of the framework? That seems at least difficult to me personally.
You find fault with the fact that professional developers want to explain to you in detail how it works and at the same time demand that you understand and apply the many little morsels that are thrown at you? You are an experienced developer. Of course we demand that you understand and apply contexts on your own.
Maybe you just don’t ask the right questions? As an experienced developer, you know very well how important it is to ask the right questions. If you yourself say that the answers you get to your questions are insufficient, maybe you should ask more precisely?
You want someone to code you an example that is exactly tailored to your needs. At least that’s how I understand it right now. The example of a course is not so wrong. What about the Laminas courses from Perforce?
Don’t get me wrong. But isn’t it a bit unkind to accuse all those who actually want to help you of not understanding you?
Once again, yes, the Laminas documentation is at least patchy, but it does show a few basic examples that you can use. For you as an experienced developer, it should be easy to understand these simple examples and modify them to meet your needs. There is no one right way to do it. There are always several ways to reach the goal. Programming is not as static as a simple book. If you are stuck with what you want to do, feel free to ask your questions here. Try to ask your questions as precisely as possible. You will get help here.
In the meantime, we are trying to motivate people here who would like to participate in the Laminas open source project, perhaps to write better documentation, among other things.
There is a new one you can get in ebook form for $5 right now from Packt.
i bought it and skimmed through it and it looks pretty good.
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The related code examples can be found on GitHub:
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I’m totally with @ezkimo.
@codexknight7 may be you’re a little off the path of what Laminas (MVC) is. As i understand you right, you’re expecting more than Laminas want’s to deliver.
First of all it’s a collection of (nearly) uncoupled libraries. It’s not a “i’ve every little piece predefined and ready to use for you without letting you think about it”-Framework, like lot’s of other frameworks are. Don’t expect Lamains MVC to be a Laravel, Symfony or similar.
Unlike those frameworks, Laminas-MVC is (more or less) only the Glue, not the full blueprint of an Application. You can build something similar, for sure. But that’s your choice and your profession to build the entire Application the way you need it.
The things you are asking for are things that an experienced developer should know and be able to build on it’s own. The Laminas Packages will help you in this process but won’t guide you in detail and therefore also won’t restrict you in any way.
btw.: That’s the exact thing i love about Laminas and dislike about most other frameworks.
cheers
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I was one of the technical reviewers 
Its worth a read.
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Hello codexknight7,
Are you still looking for some type of help, book or otherwise, for laminas?
@Francisc_Tar pointed already to the examples from Oleg. But even better would have been the link to the book he wrote: Using Zend Framework 3 – A free and open-source book on ZF3 for beginners My employees all learned a lot from his books.
I took now the time to rewrite the book written by Oleg from Zend 3 to Laminas. You can find the new book here: Using Laminas Framework
I am still in the last few changes/fixes but it is 98% finished. (I plan to do the rest tomorrow Sunday.) Feedback is always welcome if some sees something in the book that should be better.
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