Looking at different MVC frameworks from many langauges from PHP to Python, I've concluded that the explosion of MVC frameworks is mainly due to undisciplined & unexperienced programmers.
Nobody would argue about the separation of the layers because this is not the problem I have with it, if anything most implementations emphasis separation at the wrong places. The end solutions end up looking very mickey mouse. It's been long asserted starting with Smalltalk there there be a separation of layers with an application starting with the view (what the user sees), the controller (which controls the flow of the application) and the model (the representation of the data). What MVC does not emphasis is the separation of the data access layer, one of the most important pieces of an application. So what is done with this? For many the DAL is either encapsulated within the model or some toolkit that generates the SQL for them, this may lead to decreased overall security of a database and inefficient queries. The catalyst for MVC frameworks on the web has been the slew of poorly written applications mostly in PHP & Perl , this has driven many programmers looking for control & consistency. However this need is short sighted when people find a magical bullet MVC Framework, and do not place emphasis on minimization & reusability of code. Therefore you end up with the same paradigm as before, just crappy applications separated out into pieces. No doubt there should be separation of layers, but there also has to be a real dialogue about programming as a discipline & science, not as a craft of gluing popsicle sticks together. There should be more discussion of architecture before a project starts and more code reviews and discussions in project teams. Also one off projects (putting one programming on an island giving them a compiler/interpreter) is a great way to get a crappy application. That being said, I presently don't use one, but I'm still holding out for an MVC framework that works for me and provides me power, flexibility and is well documented. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
