This compact framework provided me flexibility. I can implement my own design pattern either MVC or something else. What caught my attention the most was its built-in ORM that can accommodate SQL and NoSql database. That means I can have my MongoSql and SQL queries written by those compatible raw sql statements but still creates ORM models the same way as nosql. Consider for example: $user=new DB\SQL\Mapper($db,'users');// for sql db $user=new DB\Mongo\Mapper($db,'users'); // for mongo db then $user = $user->load('id = 1');

Thanks to its high modularity, I can add more fat to my liking. There's also Cortex ORM f3 extension which handles join tables. Also, handles sessions, routing, and config with ease and let you organize them neatly. That's just a few of the handful features without much weight and with fast performance. One drawback is smaller community, but didn't disappoint me.

'm a professional web developer from Vietnam with B.S Physics and Engineering. I'm a Phalcon enthusiast as Opensource. In free time, I was support on forum Phalcon also my forum and contribution core Phalcon.

I think precompiled PHP is the way to go. It saves CPU cycles, RAM and overall I/O. It saves money too. Smaller requirements = smaller bills.

I've tried symfony and zend. Phalcon was easiest to use.