My company has been looking to hire a PHP developer. Some of the requirements for the job include:

1. an understanding of design patterns, particularly MVC.
2. some knowledge of PHP 5.3's new features.
3. experience working with a PHP framework (it doesn't matter which one).

I interviewed a man today who's primary work experience involved working with Joomla!. As an employee, he will be required to work on existing and new web applications that use Zend Framework, CakePHP and/or CodeIgniter. It is my opinion that we shouldn't dismiss hiring a developer just because he has not used the same technologies that he'll be using on the job.

So, I'd like to know about the kind of coding experience working with Joomla! can provide. I've never bothered to take more than a brief look (if that) at the Joomla! package, so I'm hoping to lean on the knowledge of my peers.

• Would you consider Joomla! to contain a professional code-base?
• Is the package well organized, and/or OO in general, or is it more like WordPress where logic and presentation are commingled?
• When working with Joomla!, is the developer encouraged to use best practices?
• In your opinion, would experience working with Joomla! garner the skills needed to get up to speed with Zend or CakePHP quickly, or will there be a steep learning curve ahead of the developer?

I'm not saying that Joomla! is a bad technology, or even that it is lower on the totem pole when compared to the frameworks I've mentioned. Maybe it's awesome, I dunno. I simply have no idea!