I spent waaaay to many hours trying to load routes via a config file in Zend Framework 1.10 and I think this might be a problem with the documentation I was following on the Zend Framework site. More on that later, let’s get to my solution first.

Here is the use case I am addressing: I want to store routes in a .ini file and have this file loaded via the Application Bootstrap. Zend Application allows me to store these in the application.ini file but I have a large number and want to store them separately.

Updated May 7 2010, With Version 0.1.94 From GitHub

Node.js is evented i/o for Google’s V8 Server Side JavaScript engine. For me … node.js means I can write apps that can handle tons of requests without having to learn/think about threads & locks (all I know about threads is that they are scary and involve big books from O’reilly).

As a front-end developer the node.js approach is fantastic because I already think in terms of events and I love writing code in JavaScript.

Installing node.js on OS X is super-easy and the documentation on the node.js site is great, but I figured I would write a step-by-step for OS X since I had just installed it for the first time. The node.js install includes Google’s V8 JS engine so no need to worry about installing that.

Reading this article on the Zend Framework Blog Managing CSS and JavaScript files within a Zend Framework App, speaking personally as a front-end developer I would use a different system.

In my approach loading up different CSS/JS files per controller is the exception not the rule. We load additional CSS/JS when we need to do something very special, for example a page with a flash file uploader.

I also think loading dependent files outside of the controller can make it difficult for other developers to work on your code. You can’t just look at the controller to see what other CSS/JS dependencies are being used, you need to check the file system.

My approach is a View Plugin that manages a standard set of CSS/JS for every layout. Additional CSS/JS if needed are added in the controllers.

Onto the code!

So you want to use @font-face to add some fancy fonts to your site. Well there is that pesky problem of IE needing a specific font type. Until recently you had to use Microsoft’s WEFT tool to generate the right files. Personally I’d rather stick needles into my eyeballs than use this awful program, luckily some online tools have sprung up to ease the pain.

Announcing the launch of DevPatch.com!

I will be using the blog section to share technical tips & tricks focusing on:

• XHTML & HTML 5
• jQuery
• Server Side JavaScript
• Zend Framework
• Technical Project Management

Special thanks to Lesley Marker @ Marker Design for developing the DevPatch logo/branding.