I am currently adapting zenPhoto to integrate into an existing website; however I am been royally hindered by the current template functions in zenPhoto.
I currently can not use a function without the fear of a direct echo been used and totally screwing up placement within the current page.
As a matter of personal preference I believe using echo in external functions is bad practice and it leads to this kind of headache when performing integration.
Please consider buffering function output and using return.
Cheers
DarK
Yes, the simple print function like with printImageTitle() for example is mostly actually just a echo getImageTitle() but that is not all it also contains the inline editing support. Take a look at template-functions.php for details.
There are also some functions that really yneed to echo something as they do some more complicated things than just return one thing (like printAllTagsAs, the nested printAlbumMenu()plugin among others).
Also, you will maybe agree that a is a little more direct and shorter (and less cluttered looking) on the theme side than, especially for not used tophp users.