So why PHP and not something like Ruby (Ruby on Rails) or Python (Pylons/Django) etc?

• Ushahidi is already written in PHP and we wanted to choose a language that is a common denominator across the developer community
• Low barrier to entry; Relatively easy to setup, learn and deploy applications
• Popular, well documented and has an active user base + community

Is SwiftRiver using a Framework?

As with Ushahidi, SwiftRiver is written in Kohana 3.2. Some of the factors that led us down this path are:

• The Ushahidi developer community is already familiar with Kohana 2.x. Though starkly different from the 2.x track, the programming patterns in Kohana 3.2 are somewhat unchanged so this presents a more gradual learning curve for Kohana 2.x developers
• Kohana 3.x is pretty well thought out framework; HMVC request system for both internal and external request, RFC-compliant HTTP libraries, modularity, unit tests, improved logging facility etc and addresses some of the major shortfalls of Kohana 2.x
• Vibrant community
• It is lightweight