Whats a framework?

[OutcasT]

Whats a framework?

How does it help?

Why should i use one over nothing?

Any suggestions on which one?

[a_bertrand]

1) It's a set of pre-made code which should help your in some tasks. It could contain for example ways to load and save data from a database or easier way to present your data.

2) A good framework should help you write cleaner code and concentrate on the business logic (the logic of your application) while removing some of the work from your shoulders.

3) You should use one if you have the need for it.

4) Depends on the language you want to use and what you want to do as application. Just like that it's a bit hard to answer you. I guess you want to use PHP, then watch for the big framework out there like Zend, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Symfony or others. Check out for example http://www.phpframeworks.com/ to see which one fit your needs best.

Anyhow, as always, you should either choose something after you know what you want to do and evaluate which product fit better your needs, or if you will work for a company you will have to work with what they already use there (usually you can't join some team and impose your own way to code).