This is the second screen cast focussed on getting started with the Solar PHP web application framework. In this screen cast, I show you how to create a vendor namespace from the command line, create an application from the command line, and how to get data into your views.
Once you have the Solar PHP framework installed with a basic configuration, it’s time to create a simple application. Starting with something very simple is a great way to learn the framework. Also, you can build upon the simple application as you learn more of the features available.
This post is freakishly long for a blog post, so I paginated it. You will see some links to the pages at the bottom of each page.
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Sometimes it’s difficult to properly explain in writing how to do something. You know the old expression, “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, sometimes, the same holds true for a video. I took a little time to create a screen cast of how I installed and set up the Solar PHP web application framework on my home computer running Ubuntu. Now, please remember, the production budget was pretty low, and I am not exactly a voice actor 
Even though it’s March, old man Winter hasn’t decided to pack up and head South. Here in Edmonton, we are still about 10°C below seasonal, but that’s better than the -41°C we woke up to last Tuesday. Yes, the weather is cold and there still seems to be much snow on the ground and more on the way, but that’s not going to stop me from going outside and getting some fresh air.
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The main Solar manual has a really good section on setting up and working with the Solar config file. Be sure to read the information posted there as well.
Once you get Solar installed, you will probably want to tweak some settings, such as your database configuration. One of the features I like the most is Solar’s unified configuration file with its tight integration into each controller. The configuration file is simply a returned array, and entries in the configuration file use the name of the class as an array key. Those values are then available to the class via $this->_config. Below is an example.
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Solar is a web application framework written in PHP. It follows the general Model View Controller (MVC) design pattern so those familiar with other MVC-based frameworks will have a pretty easy time figuring out how it works.
There are some good Getting Started documents on the Solar website. Much of this is taken from there with some elaboration.
Keep in mind that Solar is still in an alpha state, so you might not want to use it on production web sites. There are some changes coming in the next release which will make some of the documentation obsolete.
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