Framework for simple app design

[luis_see_me]

So, I have a small site for the highschool I'm currently in, a pretty simple site connected to MySQL for a simple HelpDesk app (I used a lot of scripts that I found here to make the site work, thanks for the contributors btw!!), and some useful links for school resources, I've studying PHP in my spare time, and now I am trying to put up inquiry / response app inside the site, I am currently developing it from scratch, but after every form I finished coding, some problems appear and honestly they are beyond my knowledge, I have started to look at some bootstrap Admin themes (they are really cheap) that look really cool, thay have charts and everything, I also have looked a yeager, a new HTML5 CMS, but I'm not sure what's exactly the framework or template I need.

So the app is basically this, two types of users, students and proffesors, a student will be able to create an inquiry , select a subject, a professor, attach a file, in his admin panel he is going to be able to see the status of his inquiries, as well a the solution or response.
The other user, the profesor, will be able to receive inquiries and solve them using his admin panel.

So for this, do you have a recomendation?
I mean, what should I use, an admin bootstrap theme?
a CMS?
Which one would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!
And sorry for my spelling, I'm from Mexico=)

[LastMitch]

@luis_see_me

My advice is to learn php & mysql and understand how it works. If you don't know the basics whatever you mention above is useless. Not being harsh but it's true.

Regarding about Frameworks:

You can try Smarty or Yii

http://www.smarty.net/

http://www.yiiframework.com/

[veedeoo]

LastMitch is right on the yii framework, but then again the rest will rely heavily on how much coding experience do you have in OOP.

If you are pretty fluent in OOP concept of writing codes in PHP, then you can attempt to just write your own MVC framework.. trust me it is not that hard, once you have a complete grasp on how the model, controller, view design pattern works.

If you want to practice in mvc pattern.. it is not that I am trying to inject something here that people don't need or not PHP related topic. However, achieving a broad knowledge in writing codes cannot be achieved overnight.. of course, there are many bumps and obstacles in the process. Sometimes, we are even required to take a few steps back just to make one step forward.

My suggestion is to practice first in ASP.net environment (about 1 week), and then move on to the ASP.Net razor C#(variables, logic, and loops) (1 to 2 days), and then move on to the ASP.net MVC. Work on building a simple application and then, once you have the grasp of building an application in ASP.net MVC using C# ( believe me this is not hard and it will give you so much coding techniques experience that you can use in PHP later on).

After that, I truly believe that you can write it your own.. The advantage of writing it your own is that you can decide which plugins you want to add and build, you can either minified it or make as bloated as CAKE PHP, you can also implement the templating system as your familiarity with the concepts translates into experience.

The reason I am suggesting you to take the ASP.net MVC with C# route is that this is the language where you can easily learn what is namespace, class, extending an existing class, what does the controller do?, what is view?, model, application directory structure, application data, and many other things. Besides you will not need to struggle in writing your database query because there are some built-in short hand codes already installed in the library for sql and mysql in ASP.net.

But then, it all depends on how much challenges in learning you want to take just to achieve something. If you are not that type of person, then I guess LastMitch recommendation YII framework is will suited for you. Do not attempt using the bake or the symfony, because these are on top of the foodchain ( meaning it is a lot harder to grasp).

I hope I did not deliver more confusion into the subject matter. My sincere apology if I ever did. Just trying to advice people that there are alternatives and easy ways of learning things. The same way I was guided by many people and professors who are always there to guide me as needed.

[gabrielcastillo]

I somewhat agree with ppl above. I would not use a framework if you are learning to develop. That goes for html, css, php ,jquery... etc. You need to be able to hand code and understand what you are coding first. This is a long process and takes time but if you truly want to be a good developer, this is the best way to go.

Frameworks cut time and help with development but its a shortcut. Short cuts are not best practive when learning to develop. development is understanding and knowledge of why the framework is doing what it does.

To answer you question. If you want to get something up and running. I would recommend Codeigniter. This is a simple and fast php framework. You can build your app in a couple of days.

Codeigniter plus a css framework like foundation from zurb or twitters bootstrap would be a great combination to get started with.

Codeigniter: http://codeigniter.com
Foundation: http://foundation.zurb.com
Bootstrap: http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/

[luis_see_me]

Perfect for the answers mates, I totally understand what I am coding, I have 2300 lines of code now but I feel like I am wasting a lot of time coding the MySQL instructions, etc.
I'll give a try to the Yii framework to see how far I can go.

[diafol]

Yii is my favourite FW at the moment, but if you're not comfortable with OOP, you may find it very difficult to modify, debug or extend. You may benefit from learning basic OOP techniques and patterns.

[Shadizon]

Let Me Clarify Some Point CMS Is not a framework
CMS ( Content Managment System ) Like word press or Joomla !! It's a system designed to control Content
Frame Work in simple words Is PHP already Written TO Simplify writing ur code[Less Code Less error ] ( All of frameworks I see use OOP and most of them MVC )
I see that ur problem woyld be solved easier using hard coding