What is Kohana?
Kohana is an open-source web application framework for PHP 5. It uses the Model View Controller design pattern and aims to be secure, lightweight, and easy to use. Based upon CodeIgniter, Kohana prizes communal development, speed, flexibility, and documentation as its core values. As of version 2.0 Kohana takes full advantage of PHP 5 to develop a fast, object-oriented framework upon which to develop great web applications.
Version 1.0 of Kohana (Blue Flame) was an extension of CodeIgniter, with additions developed by a community of enthusiasts. Version 1.0 is no longer being maintained.
Design Goals
- Fast - Kohana will be fast, as fast as we can get it to go without sacrificing usability. Everyone who uses this framework in their professional lives knows the importance of performance, so a speedy framework is a priority.
- Flexible - This framework isn't going to restrict how you write code. It assumes the programmer knows best and allows you to do what you need to do.
- Incredibly Well Documented - Documentation is one of the great aspects of CodeIgniter and this will continue with Kohana.
- Lightweight and Extensible - No one likes bloat. Kohana will be easy to extend, but it's not going to try to be the end-all-to-be-all swiss army knife of PHP.
Getting Kohana
Kohana 2.1 Has been released! Please visit Kohanaphp to download version 2.1
Kohana 2.0 Has been superseded by 2.1 Upgrading to 2.1 is recommended.
Kohana 1.0 is obsolete.
Subversion Repository
To download Kohana's latest trunk, run:
svn co http://svn.kohanaphp.com/trunk kohana
If you are new to Subversion, you may want to read this introduction to SVN.
Developer Topics
Documentation
CodingStyle
Becoming a Developer
Who are the Kohana developers
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