[eluser]usmc[/eluser]
I just started working as a consultant for a major publicly traded company using iSeries servers as their DB/web server solution (don't get me started on that). For the last few months IBM has been pushing Zend Platform with the Zend Framework (without really mentioning the fact that it uses PHP) like a crack dealer to RPG programmers as their "web development platform". Now I don't mind Zend core (and it is necessary to easily interface with iSeries servers) but the Zend framework is one of the worst frameworks out there right now. I mean it is monumentally bad. If you have a framework that absolutely needs internal caching to function you have a serious problem.
Basically there are three of us "consultants" teaching the 35+ web developers (who were RPG programmers last month) basic web development concepts ... like why in-line styling leads to a maintainability nightmare (not to mention the fact that the page loads slower etc.). Most of these concepts seem very simple to grasp but the battles are piling up. Perhaps there are those out there who think storing images in binary form in the database is a good idea but I am not one of them. I am certain that we will get there but I would rather not use Zend framework for a year until it is inevitably ripped out and thrown away which would also harm the perception of PHP as a viable option for this company too.
Where does that leave this post. Well I need your help. I need the help of the CI community now. If we lose this battle it will "embolden" (thank you Bush) the Zend/IBM machine and will allow them to continue pushing the falsehoods of Zend using this company as yet another "success" story. If the Zend framework did anything right I would use it but as it stands now I feel dirty touching it. Its everything a framework shouldn't be.
I need any success stories, best practices etc. that you have with CI in an IBM environment (hopefully iSeries i5 etc.).
I need any code snippets that you have that are specific to the iSeries.
I am more than willing to reimburse any member for serious help.
Help Me CI Community you are my only hope.
