Scratching the Surface: Getting Started with PHP Fusebox

The Fusebox web methodology may change the way you approach architecting data-driven web applications.

The latest version of Fusebox is the most scalable and effective incarnation of a "web box" - style architecting approach. Created by Steve Nelson, Fusebox has been further popularized by the arrival of a PHP port by David Huyck of http://bombusbee.com. Armed with Fusebox and a few simple tools, PHP developers can now architect scalable web applications across project teams, technical disciplines, and display mediums.

If you've ever found yourself working long hours trying to debug code in an application that you know will probably not be appreciated by the client, you're not alone. The fact is that most software development projects fail. That's right, and the number is scary: 70%. They fail for a number of reasons - excessive time spent coding and too little spent understanding the client's needs, poor documentation, code that can't be reused, code that's difficult to maintain. The list goes on and on.

You now have the opportunity to find out why using Fusebox can make your life much easier by dramatically increasing your project's chances of success. Based on a hub-and-spoke model, Fusebox allows sections of code to work independently of each other while promoting code reuse, distributed development and cheaper maintenance. This translates to a happy client and happy developers - the perfect end to any project.

Let's jump into the code and set up a simple application. As we build, the possibilities will reveal themselves, and hopefully we'll emerge on the other side with a handy technique for your web-building arsenal.