[digioz]

Is custom code better than existing solutions? Please explain in a reply below.

Pete

[wirehopper]

At this point, there are so many excellent scripts available that choosing a good one and extending it is far more cost-effective than writing your own.

It's really important to choose carefully, since the learning curve for how to use a sophisticated script can be very steep, but it's almost always worth it.

[carters-site]

I agree with Wirehopper here cost benefits of building on an already established working script outweigh personal knowledge of every aspect of the script.

That being said if you really have to scale software to enterprise level you are likely going to be forced into building a lot of custom software around your architecture. Many complete packages like Cake PHP or drupal are too bloated to scale and can be beaten rather easily building your own if you must squeeze all the blood out of your servers.

[digioz]

Agreed. But how do you guys feel about re-using an existing code library of custom code you have written over the years as opposed to going with other 3rd party custom code. For most cases you still acomplish the same goal while retaining copyright to the code you write.

Pete

[wirehopper]

I have a proprietary framework I use - Smarty is really the engine, it handles the configuration, language, and templates. Zend framework is used as a library, and dojo provides the AJAX. It works well - and I've tuned the server to cache as much as possible on the browsers.

-- but --

I think using Zend as a framework is better and I'm working on assembling the architecture based on it. It's more robust than my code.

[digioz]

Originally Posted by wirehopper

I have a proprietary framework I use - Smarty is really the engine, it handles the configuration, language, and templates. Zend framework is used as a library, and dojo provides the AJAX. It works well - and I've tuned the server to cache as much as possible on the browsers.

-- but --

I think using Zend as a framework is better and I'm working on assembling the architecture based on it. It's more robust than my code.

It does make sense to further extend or combine existing frameworks to get to what you need faster. I am a big fan of frameworks in general not just in PHP but in .NET as well. The only thing I would be careful with is the amount of resources it requires to run a combination of different libraries and frameworks. You don't want a small application like a directory listing application or guestbook to have the same footprint as a full fledged portal!

Pete

[JKookServ]

If the existing solution is complete, then you don't want to mess up with your own code.
However, combining custom code and existing solution is good.

[Server-Logix]

If an existing solution is available, I would try to get a demo. If it meets my needs, I would not custom code it. If it does not I would consider custom code.

[Morlaf]

maybe i have been looking in the wrong place, but existing scripts are always too generic.... might as well get down and dirty with some code! )