How did you learn them? And what helped you develop an understanding of how to use them?

I have read two third of PHP 5 objects paterns and practice and when i read the patterns i understand them for the most part but i don’t feel equipped with the knowledge to apply them to my current programming.

Also. do you still make use of design paterns using CI or does CI make that unnecessary?

You can learn about patterns just about anywhere—books, Internet, friends, colleagues— they are all good resources. The best way to learn to understand them is to be faced with a problem that requires a pattern to solve it. The Factory pattern solves a problem that most developers face. Once you’ve understood the problem and recognize a better way to do it, you learn why the pattern exists in the first place. Then it becomes second-nature.

CI does not make using patterns unnecessary, but it does use a few in the framework. Using other patterns depends on what your application is doing, and how it’s being constructed.

Here’s a link to a pretty good site when it comes to applying design patterns in php:
http://www.patternsforphp.com/

Also, You could purchase one of Head Firsts publications on the subject @ http://headfirstlabs.com/books.php

I refer to their Object-Oriented Analysis & Design and Design Patterns regularly.

Thanks, that’s a very nbice website, i’m checking out the book aswell.