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I've been working more with Java than PHP recently, using a Java port of the DIY Framework. So effectively it is a portable framework now, at least to some extent — it is a matter of language syntax and model layer to move a Web applicaton between Java and PHP.

Not that this is going to be extensively used killer feature. But I think it is a positive outcome of our Web framework design: it has to be based on HTTP and REST principles and concepts. Since they are uniform for all Web applications, such a framework makes them portable.

We think it is essential to incorporate HTTP at the heart of the design, and in the DIY Framework an URI-adressed Resource is an actual class. It is also for the same reason we don't like or use third-party frameworks, since instead of HTTP, they are built on concepts taken out of the blue. Symfony structures an application as modules and actions and throws a mess of routing on top. Who said that a Web application must have structure like that? Apache Struts uses some abstract notion of action and tons of configuration. ASP.NET goes even further and pretends it is used to build event-driven Windows applications and not Web applications of request/response nature.

An interesting presentiation at Google Tech Talks about different interfaces to query semantic data.
Casual users were presented with 4 increasingly formal systems: keyword search, natural language search, controlled language search, and a graphical interface to build query patterns. Interestingly enough, the users liked natural language best, although keyword queries gave more accurate results.