It's been a while since I've talked about technical stuff and I need to rant, so here goes:

I got started in web development sometime around the middle of 2001... I think... Anyhow, it was a pretty garbled mess for me, as I picked up a couple of existing products and tried to make modifications to them to suit my needs. Frustrated, I ended up starting my own projects, and I have learned a lot even though not a single one is fully complete.

Along the way, I've played with all different technologies. I've used template engines, I've used frameworks, and I've even gotten my feet wet with some Ajax (without bleach :P). I've learned a lot from these, but there's one thing that holds true in all cases: Keep it simple, stupid.

Let's start from the top with template engines. It's kind of a good idea at first, because you may have your project broken out into groups of designers, developers, and managers. The designers may not know much about the core of your application -- the PHP that does all the heavy lifting -- but they may be quite skilled with XHTML and know how to do the needful. The problem with most template engines, though, is they introduce either a new markup language specific to the template system, or they use rather awkward methods using some sort of implementation of PHP.

For a long while I was a fan of Smarty. In fact, several of my sites still use Smarty. I thought it was a good idea because it helped me keep my presentation layer separate from my processing layer, and it allowed for me to make different themes for my sites. The downfall though was that I had to learn a new language that didn't really afford me the flexibility I needed, manipulating the data to suit the needs of the layout. Other developers pushed that I needed to not use a template engine and use straight PHP to build my layout. I didn't believe them, and when I first tried it after using Smarty, it was painful. But now that I've been working without any template engine for over a year, I can honestly say that PHP is beneficial from not only that standpoint, but also from a resource usage standpoint. No longer am I passing around arrays and classes up to 1MB in size. No, I'm now passing just the data I need, and using includes to load the different sections of my layout while maintaining my presentation layer separation.

The next problem is down to frameworks. Who in their right mind would consider building a simple list management system from a framework like symfony or Code Igniter? These frameworks are big, bulky, and are much too restrictive (unless you're new to the concept of project development entirely). It's possible to build a project from a very simplistic framework (which I'll be sharing my version of sometime in the next few months), and if you're diligent enough you can maintain a clean and organized project without sacrificing your power and ability as a developer. In short, frameworks like those mentioned are a horrible idea.

Ajax. Not the stuff I (don't) clean my kitchen sink with. No, the implementation of asynchronous JavaScript and XML. What's the problem with it? It's generally overdone (see Dojo Toolkit Demo: Contributor Listing), and pointless. Probably the only reasonable implementations I've seen so far are applications like Meebo and GMail. Generally speaking though, there's no point in using Ajax. It just over-complicates things and leaves you curled up in the corner of your office, sucking your thumb, and chanting obscenities against the technology of Ajax.

I guess in summary, I just want to say that I'm old-fashioned and I despise anyone who tries to get all fancy-schmancy with their code. You have a links database; you don't need a full MVC framework with an Ajax fisheye-flipper!