Re:Significantly better than Zend? (Score 1)

Caveat: I'm a Sofware Architect with Zend Framework.

You're characterizing ZF incorrectly. It is _both_ a library of uncoupled components _and_ a full-stack framework. It's quite clear that you've never used it and are in fact letting the blogosphere do your thinking for you. Additionally, while CakePHP and Symfony are both full-stack frameworks, Symfony is moving towards a more loosely coupled architecture now. Also, Symfony uses Yaml for configuration, not XML.

I personally never recommend one framework or language over another. You should always evaluate your application and business needs, and determine what tools will solve those best. Recommending a tool to somebody without telling them _why_ they might want to use it does nobody any good (for instance, why use CakePHP? Answer: convention over configuration, leading to RAD; PHP 4 compatibility; etc.). Answer the questions you do know, please.