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PHP Frameworks

  • Swetha Y
  • Jun 25, 2019
  • 0 comment(s)
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Popular PHP frameworks:

 

 

PHP, hypertext pre-processor is an open-source server-side scripting language.

It is one of the most widely used programming languages used for developing websites and web apps, almost 85% of all websites were using PHP as of January 2019.

Developing a website from base involves writing hundreds and thousands of lines of code for every single functionality, which is a repetitive task and takes a lot of time.

Over time, they realized that they needed a solution for this and came up with the concept of PHP frameworks.

 

Why Frameworks?

In software development, the term ‘frameworks’ refers to libraries of files that include several basic functions. The goal of a framework is to provide the developer with a foundation to develop projects more efficiently and effectively. To do that, frameworks will include a lot of the functions and features you’d need to code from the ground up if you wanted to start from scratch.

In order to implement frameworks in the project, you are required to learn the various functions of that particular framework and then start coding from scratch.

 

If you want to develop a new website or PHP application, the first step is looking for a framework that includes all the functionality you’ll need to use. There are a lot of options to choose frameworks. They’re all unique in how they approach development, and they all come with their own pros and cons.

 

This article will help you to find the best PHP framework for your development work.

This article will talk about each framework’s pros and cons, its technical specifications, and more. All of these frameworks are free and open-source, so you can try out whichever one suits your project.

 

 1)  Laravel :

One framework that tends to pop up most in web development is Laravel.

Laravel Introduced in 2011, Laravel is the most popular free, open-source PHP framework in the world because it handles complex web application requests securely, at a considerably faster speed than other frameworks. This particular framework is known for its elegant syntax, which is easy to grasp and a pleasure to work with.

With Laravel, developers can able to skip a lot of groundwork for the project since you get access to functions such as routing, user authentication, session management, caching, Database Connections and Management.

Laravel packs all the functionality you’ll need to build a modern PHP application.

         

 Key features:

·          Laravel is easy to learn the framework for beginners.

·        Laravel development process becomes very easy with the introduction of Homestead, a pre-packaged, all-in-one vagrant box.

·        Laravel has built-in functions to handle routing, user management, caching, seamless data migration, MVC architecture support, security, view template engine, and authentication many others.

·          Laravel’s core functionality can be extended using add-ons

·          Laravel handles NoSQL structures like Mongo DB or Redis.

·          Laravel integrates with Gulp and Elixir so any npm packages and bower packages can be installed using composer.

·          Laravel can be integrated with third-party libraries and platforms such as AWS.

·          Laravel supports Queue management:run tasks asynchronously in the background to improve performance.

 

2) CodeIgniter:

CodeIgniter is one of the powerful and simple frameworks and also the oldest frameworks (released in 2011) with advanced key features. It is the go-to framework for all the developers who want to develop their projects quickly because it allows them to focus on the creativity part and requires little to no coding tasks.

It contains a library which has a simple interface and requires a logical structure to access. CodeIgniter is known for its small footprint (it’s only about 2 MB in size). It offers numerous prebuilt functions that help with constructing robust and reusable modules.

         

It has a very straightforward installation process that requires only a minimal user configuration, so it can save you a lot of hassle. It’s also an ideal choice if you want to avoid PHP version conflict, as it works perfectly on almost all shared and dedicated hosting platforms.

         

CodeIgniter is not strictly based on MVC development architecture. Controller classes are a must, but Models and Views are optional, and you can use your own coding and naming conventions, evidence that CodeIgniter gives great freedom to developers. CodeIgniter comes with many built-in libraries for unit testing, form validation, email, sessions. It runs faster with database tasks compared to other frameworks. CodeIgniter is well documented and a good framework to start with for beginners.

 

3) Symfony:

Symfony was released in 2005 and it is one of the most reliable application frameworks among the open-source developers’ community. It is mainly used to build high-performance complex web applications and enterprise websites.

         

Symfony is the most feature-rich PHP frameworks. The two most outstanding technological benefits Symfony supported are Bundles and Components.

         

The bundle is like a package of files (PHP files, stylesheets, JavaScript, images) for implementing any feature (for ex, a blog, a shopping cart, etc). The bundle is similar to the plugin. The main benefit of the bundle is that they are decoupled.

You can reconfigure and reuse them for many applications to reduce the overall development cost. The components reduce routine tasks and allow developers to focus on specific business features.

There are more than 30 Symfony components that facilitate the development process. You can use predefined components individually or you can add your own custom components with no trouble to the architecture.

Symfony components can also be used as stand-alone components in other frameworks such as Laravel, Zend etc. or in plain PHP solutions.    

Bundles and components help to eliminate dependencies in the architecture.

The fewer dependencies, the easier it will be to make changes without the risk of breaking other parts of the project.

         

Symfony is commercially supported by SensioLabs.

 

SensioLabs, the company-creator, and sponsor, actively contributes to the framework`s reputation.

SensioLabs provide official tutorials and certification for beginners.

 

In the official website of sensiolabs, you can view schedules of upcoming conferences all over the world and major updates rolled out for framework.

 

Every line of code should be tested to guarantee stable work of an application before deploying to the server.

Unit testing for Symphony is very easy because it supports PHPUnit library functions.

 

Functional testing is also automated by using built-in libraries to reduce the developer’s task.

         

4) Zend:

 

Zend plays a very crucial part in PHP development as It becomes better with its latest stable version of Zend 3 (In 2016). Zend Framework is a fully object-oriented framework. It utilizes a lot of object-oriented programming concepts like Abstraction, Inheritance and Interfaces. It allows developers to implement own variations of components without having to alter the Zend Framework`s codebase itself.

 

Developers can able to customize Zend Framework`s codebase this allows to create functionality that is unique to your project, but because of its object-oriented nature, you'll be able to use this functionality in other projects as well.

 

Zend Framework has a Validation component, which will validate data coming from forms before saving into the Database. Zend treats input forms as objects, and are represented by the Zend_Form component. Zend is widely preferred and trusted by various corporations, such as Cisco WebEx and BNP Paribas.

 

5)Phalcon:

 

Phalcon is an MVC based PHP framework, uniquely written in C and C++ and released in 2012.

Phalcon uses very few resources in comparison to other frameworks, translating into very fast processing of HTTP requests, which can be critical for developers working with systems that don’t offer much overhead. Phalcon includes ORM, MVC, caching, and auto-loading components. Its latest and first long term support release includes support for PHP 7.1.30.

         

Phalcon brings developers data storage tools such as its own SQL dialect: PHQL, as well as Object Document Mapping for MongoDB. Other features include Template engines, form builders, ease of building applications with international language support, and more. Phalcon is ideal for building both performance REST APIs, as well as full-fledged web applications.

       

6) CakePHP:

CakePHP helps in developing visually impressive, feature-loaded websites. CakePHP is one of the easiest frameworks to learn, especially because of its CRUD (create, read, update, and delete) framework. CakePHP released in the early 2000s, and since then it’s gained better performance and many new components.

         

CakePHP is simple and easy to install, as you only need a web server and a copy of the framework.

         

It makes a good choice for commercial applications due to security features that include SQL injection prevention, input validation, cross-site request forgery (CSRF) protection, and cross-site scripting (XSS) protection.

         

Some key features include a modern framework, fast builds, proper class inheritance, validation, and security. In addition, CakePHP provides great documentation, many support portals, and premium support through Cake Development Corporation.

         

7) Yii:

The Yii framework — which stands for Yes, it is! — is, in fact, simple and evolutionary. It’s a high-performance, component-based PHP framework for developing modern web applications. Yii is suitable for all kinds of web apps. For this reason, it’s a universal web programming framework.

 

Yii has an easy installation process. Furthermore, its robust security features make the framework suitable for highly secure endeavors such as e-commerce projects, portals, CMS, forums, and many others.

         

It boasts excellent speed and performance, it’s highly extensible, and it lets developers avoid the complexity of writing repetitive SQL statements, as they can model the database data in terms of objects.

         

Yii has a core developer team and experts that contribute to its development. With a massive community using it, you can post issues on Yii forums and get help.

         

Yii is extremely extensible, and you can customize nearly every piece of the core’s code. However, if it’s your first time using it, be prepared for a steep learning curve.

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