If I recall correctly you're supposed to use Zend_db_table. Use your models to call info from that DB. Otherwise you're ignoring the MVC pattern (I think). The way I see it (and do it), you always use your model to build queries. It can be a pain if you've got 6 tables you need in a query. But you can always concider creating a view and use that rather then a huge query..


Edit: As you can see in the examples in the documentation, they instantiate the Model class of a table (zend_db_table) and use that to build queries.