Padraic Brady’s Blog: Self-Contained Reusable Zend Framework Modules With Standardised Configurators

If you have already developed any application using Zend Framework, you should be familiar with modules concept, part of MVC pattern. More experienced developers should notice Zend Framework’s modules lacking an important feature: self containment.

A Module is, in theory, a reusable collection of controllers, views and other classes which is packaged in its own directory for simpler copying or seperate treatment in a version control system like git or subversion. (…) Zend Framework modules do live in a module directory, using Zend_Application and some conventions their classes are autoloaded on demand and they are not required to contain controllers and views. (…) Modules currently don’t have on-access configuration unless we impose it through various means.

So are Zend Framework modules real modules or not, or at least can they be used as self-contained, reusable packages of software? Padraic Brady shows what with some effort it is possible. Read on his blog how to build Self-Contained Reusable Zend Framework Modules With Standardised Configurators.