I thought this thread had gone quiet until I realised the whole list was quiet and being blocked by SpamCop...
Mike and Isaac, sincere thanks for the detailed responses. Mike, I've been a CSS convert for a number of years and that analogy was the first thing I've heard that really does help me understand the potential benefits of using an OOP approach. I admit I need to read the thread again to get my head around OOP, MVC, Framework details but at least now I'm clearer about what I need to start understanding :o Even taking into account Claudes comments about the difficulties Frameworks can introduce (and I can relate to a framework based app being difficult to maintain if you're not familiar with the framework), I'm now thinking that at least understanding, even if not regularly using, OOP would be beneficial. To clarify, if the advantages are as great as those introduced by using CSS layouts then, even though I can't get my head around what they are just yet, I can see there would be real benefits to using a structured (MVC, OOP) approach. As Mike mentioned, the slight off-topicness of the thread is a good thing. At the very least it helped me realise I know less than I thought :) So, thanks to all those who chipped in and debated the pros and cons. Isaac, your explanations and examples have really helped - I'm pleased Rick said his head was spinning and prompted the extra explanation :) Mike, is the bean/DAO approach you use an established framework (i.e. a methodology used by other people) or is it more of a working method you devised yourself because it made sense/was easy(ish) to understand? Jacob, as someone else who's on the fence, has this thread helped your decision making? As an aside, I was looking at Raymond Camden's blog earlier and read this which includes a lot of the good, bad and ugly points in two paragraphs: ---------------- .....It was the first time I did form validation in Model-Glue. To be honest, it felt a bit akward. I had a form view in one file, form validation in a controller, data validation in a bean, and the use of a Data Access Object (DAO) to save the data. It was more than a little bit difficult to grok the process with all these balls in the air. Now that I'm done with it though, it makes more sense. I also like how my form is a lot slimmer. It's basically just the text. I know this is a reoccuring theme in my posts, but the seperation of all the pieces simply gives me the warm fuzzies. If for some reason I decide I hate Model-Glue, I would be able to re-use almost every line of code most likely. That's a "Good Thing(tm)". ---------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:234473 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54