Re: Zend Loader performance

-- Philip G <gp@...> wrote
(on Sunday, 11 May 2008, 09:36 AM -0500):

> There's arguments on both sides of the fence on this one. I personally like
> having organization in my code, which is why I like the multi-file method and
> we can just use APC to speed up code execution. However, not everybody has that
> option, which runs into a problem. On top of that, you start relying on your
> cache, not your code efficiency, for speedy code which, imo, is very, very bad.
>
> Now, as far as Zend_Loader, don't use it. It completely negates the ability to
> use APC. Zend_Loader allows dynamic loading of classes which just happens to
> prevent APC's ability to determine which files should be cached. Always use
> require/include for your classes, that way you can use APC and its features.
> Zend_Loader is convenient, but it's not worth the overhead it gives. The only
> situations I use Zend_Loader is during factor class creations. That's it.

Philip, this is simply not true in PHP >= 5.2.0. PHP 5.2.0 added a
realpath cache, and Zend_Loader performs very well under both APC and
Zend Platform on those versions -- typically within a few percentage
points of a straight require_once. We will be releasing figures in the
coming months showing real-world benchmarks of this.

The typical source regarding APC and optional requires is a post by
Rasmus that is *SEVERAL* years old and predates the realpath cache. If
you have any up-to-date information that proves me wrong, please post
it, including methodology.

--
Matthew Weier O'Phinney
Software Architect       | matthew@...
Zend - The PHP Company   | http://www.zend.com/