PHP is by far one of the most widely accepted server side scripting language in the world. Nowadays, developers are directed more towards developing complex websites and web applications. They seek a solution that can minimize their hassle of starting up a website development project from scratch and that’s where a PHP framework comes in handy.
Although, here’s a question that still ponders each of our minds! Why does a framework really matters for software developers? Well, the answer is quite simple. When it comes to coding, modern day web development inquires speed and organization. Sustainable and well structured codes help coders detect errors more easily and fill in loop holes in a blink of an eye.
Today, I am going to shed some light on one of the top PHP Frameworks on the market and how they can benefit you if you are an ardent coder.
Laravel
Topping our list today is one of the newest member on the block, it’s none other than the largely accepted “Laravel” framework. So where does this framework draws all of its inspiration from? How did it become one of the leading names in the PHP frameworks development market? It’s because Laravel is highly scalable and flexible when it comes to adding PHP codes.
Despite the claims of it’s remarkable Laracast (PHP ScreenCasts), which apparently only a few coding framework offers, it offers almost a ton of features to play around with. Some of the best features may include lightweight Blade templating engine, the ORM, unit testing features, packaging systems, RESTful controllers and much more. You also get a separate feature for Queue management so you can handle other tasks in background. Plus, you get an amazing built-in Composer and you can further integrate Laravel with Gulp and Elixir.
So what are you waiting for, take a sneak peek into the world of Laravel.
Symfony 3
Symfony is one of the most stable, well documented and high performance coding framework. It is equipped with a wide range of features such as ClassLoader, DomCrawler, CSS Selector, a private Browserkit, Serializers, Event Dispatchers and many more. It is the brainchild of the French SensioLabs, and since the time of its origination, this amazing framework build-up a highly interactive community around it.
Some of the widely accepted open source projects such as the Drupal and eZpublish are based on the Symfony framework. Not only that, but also the official BBC company website is created on Symfony 3. The community is vast, and after all, growing up gradually and that’s why Symfony 3 has become a popular talk of the town. If you are looking for an ideal framework to design high performance REST APIs and fully functional web applications, then Symfony 3 is an ideal solution for you.
To get a more in depth knowledge on what Symfony 2 is and how is it important for professional coders, please visit Symfony 3.
Yii 2
If you are looking for a generic web framework that specializes in developing sound web applications, then get yourself a Yii 2. This framework is used to create large scale projects such as building up portals, forums, e-commerce projects, content management systems, RESTful web services and so on. It comes with a highly sophisticated caching solution and component based architecture and that’s what makes Yii2 standout among many other PHP frameworks.
Code organization at Yii 2 is more centered toward a MVC (Model View Controller) architectural pattern. Yii 2 is a full stack framework which offers users a remarkable set of features. It comes with a pre-integrated Active record option for both, relational as well as NoSQL databases. It also offers a full compatibility support for RESTful API development and multi-tier caching.
Well if you think that’s all what Yii 2 has to offer, then you are wrong. Get a more detailed insight by visiting their official web page, Yii 2.
CodeIgniter
If you are looking for a tool to perform rapid PHP development, then Codeigniter is your ultimate solution. This specific coding framework is one of a kind as it can directly integrate with your hosting platform in just a few number of clicks. To initiate working on this framework, you will not require any special command line or pre-software installations. All you have to do is simply upload the files and you are all good to go.
The Codeigniter framework comes with easily accessible learning resources. It has a vast library containing documentations for unit testing, email sessions, form validations and much more. What makes this framework any different among other competitors is the large community that surrounds it. Supported with an academic entity, The British Columbia Institute of Technology, it makes Codeigniter much more reliable and authentic for beginner level PHP developers.
Take a look on the inside world of CodeIgniter on their official website.
CakePHP
CakePHP is a PHP based framework that allows users to construct effective commercial web applications. It provides users different tools for database access, caching, validation and authentication. This actively developed PHP framework allows a full support for PHP 5.5 and above related versions. It’s extensive safekeeping tools allow cross platform development as well as scripting and SQL injection preventions.
This PHP development framework comes with an extremely powerful scaffolding system with multiple database access layers allowing coders to develop both, small as well as complex systems in a much simpler environment. Also, it is quite easy to setup the database, because it does not inquire any complicated XML or YAML files. Since, CakePHP is licensed under the MIT license, it makes the framework a widely accepted development solution for commercial applications.
If you are looking for a PHP coding solution for designing commercial applications, then don’t forget to check out CakePHP.
Phalcon
Phalcon PHP is a full stack PHP framework delivered as a separate C extension. Phalcon comes with ACL that allows you to gain access control of the modules you are authorized to. There is a feature called Sharding that allows you to manage multiple databases at the same instance. You can also encrypt/decrypt data as per your preferences.
This blazing fast PHP framework offers low overhead and is unique because it comes with one of the best built-in security features. It is quite developer friendly and comes with a lot of documentations to help you get along with it quickly. The Phalcon community is quite interactive as you will find individuals highly contributing to add Extensions, Plugins, Adapters, VM, Source-codes and much more.
In order to learn more about the Phalcon, please visit their official website.
Conclusion
Deciding which frameworks fits best to your needs can depend on a large number of factors such as speed, ease of use, number of features, documentation, dependencies, hosting requirements and so on. However, it ultimately depends on the developer to decide which PHP framework fits best to their needs based on their project and skill set.
In my opinion, scalability and diversity of tools play a vital role when it comes to PHP coding. My personal preference will be Laravel because with Laravel you get painless routing, powerful queue library, and simple authentication.
