Websites using Kohana

Okay, let s break down Kohana. It s less of a company with revenue and customer care, and more of a PHP framework. Here s a comprehensive overview:

Kohana: A PHP Framework (Overview)

• Definition: Kohana is an open-source, object-oriented PHP framework built using HMVC (Hierarchical Model-View-Controller) architecture. It s designed for rapid development and aims for security, flexibility, and ease of use.
• Key Features:
  • HMVC Architecture: This promotes modularity and code reusability. Modules can be easily added and removed.
  • Security Focused: Kohana has built-in tools and techniques to help developers write secure applications, including input filtering, output encoding, and protection against common web vulnerabilities like XSS and SQL injection.
  • Extensibility: It s highly extensible. You can easily add custom classes, helpers, and modules to extend the framework s functionality.
  • Convention over Configuration: Kohana favors convention over extensive configuration files, making it easier to get started and maintain consistency.
  • ORM (Object-Relational Mapping): Helps interact with databases in an object-oriented way, simplifying database queries.
  • Templating Engine: Typically uses its own built-in templating system, or can integrate with others like Twig.
  • Routing: Clean and flexible routing system for defining URL patterns.
  • Caching: Built-in caching mechanisms to improve performance.
  • i18n (Internationalization): Supports multi-language applications.

Revenue:

• Kohana itself is open-source and free to use. There is no direct revenue stream associated with the framework itself.

Pricing:

• Free and Open Source: Kohana is released under a BSD license, which allows for free use, modification, and distribution, even for commercial purposes. There are no licensing fees.
• Costs Associated: Costs would be related to:
  • Development Time: Developer time to build applications using Kohana.
  • Hosting: Server costs to host the application.
  • Third-Party Libraries/Services: Any paid libraries or services integrated into the application.
  • Training (Optional): If a team needs to learn Kohana.

Alternatives to Kohana:

Here s a list of popular PHP frameworks that you can consider, each with its own strengths and weaknesses:

• Laravel: Currently the most popular PHP framework. Known for its elegant syntax, extensive documentation, large community, and powerful features like Eloquent ORM, Artisan console, and Blade templating engine. Good for projects of any size.
• Symfony: A robust and flexible framework often used for enterprise-level applications. It has a large and active community and is known for its adherence to best practices. Good for complex applications.
• CodeIgniter: A lightweight framework that is easy to learn and use. It s a good choice for smaller projects or when rapid development is a priority. Less feature-rich than Laravel or Symfony.
• CakePHP: Another rapid development framework that follows the convention-over-configuration principle. It has built-in tools for common tasks like ORM, authentication, and scaffolding.
• Yii: A high-performance framework that is well-suited for developing large-scale web applications. It has a strong focus on security and is known for its efficient caching mechanisms.
• Phalcon: A framework written in C that is known for its blazing-fast performance. It s a good choice for applications that require high performance and low resource consumption.

Choosing an Alternative:

The best alternative depends on the specific requirements of your project:

• For rapid development and ease of use: CodeIgniter.
• For enterprise-level applications and complex requirements: Symfony.
• For large projects with lots of resources: Laravel
• For maximum performance: Phalcon.

Customer Care/Support Details

• Community Support: Since Kohana is open-source, support is primarily through the community. You can find help through:
  • Official Website (Likely Archived): Kohana s official website is likely archived, if still up at all, and may not be actively maintained. Look for archives on archive.org (the Wayback Machine).
  • Forums and Online Communities: Search for Kohana forums and communities on platforms like Stack Overflow.
  • GitHub: Check the Kohana GitHub repository for issues and discussions. While it s unlikely to be actively maintained, you might find useful information.
• No Official Commercial Support: There is no dedicated commercial customer care or support offered directly by a Kohana company because it s an open-source project.
• Independent Consultants/Developers: You might be able to find independent developers or consultants who have experience with Kohana and can provide support or development services. However, this will require careful vetting.

Status of Kohana Today

• Not Actively Maintained: Kohana is generally considered to be a legacy framework. It s no longer actively maintained or developed. This means:
  • No new features are being added.
  • Security vulnerabilities may not be patched promptly.
  • It may become increasingly difficult to find developers with Kohana experience.
• Use with Caution: While existing Kohana applications may continue to function, it s generally not recommended to start new projects using Kohana due to the lack of active maintenance and the availability of more modern and actively supported alternatives.

In summary: Kohana is a free, open-source PHP framework. It s a viable framework, especially for smaller and less complex projects. However, you should proceed cautiously with Kohana due to its lack of active maintenance. Consider modern alternatives like Laravel or Symfony for new projects.