Developers often ponder as to what is the best framework for them to work within the initial stages of any app development. They need to consider several factors like the framework’s functionality, costs, third-party integrations, etc. The marketing has many frameworks in the offering for web application development; however, they are not the same. Out of all these frameworks, there is one name that has gained immense popularity for the PHP platform- Laravel.
Why is Laravel so popular today?
Laravel has become quite famous recently for being the best framework for PHP developers. It is suited for web app development projects that are complex. If you closely examine PHP’s scripting language, you will find it has multiple frameworks that boost technical capabilities. Some of these notable names besides Laravel are CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Symphony, Phalcon, and more. However, if you compare and evaluate all of them with experienced web developers, Laravel has captured the top position in the PHP platform.
Top Reasons why the Laravel framework is the best for PHP
Before getting into why Laravel is the best platform for PHP, let us first know a little about its background.
Laravel has a PHP framework that is open source in nature. It has been developed and is still maintained by Taylor Otwell. It was created as an advanced alternative to another popular PHP framework, CodeIgniter. The architecture of Laravel mostly draws its inspiration from Symfony.
The Laravel web-based application gradually became popular after Version 3 was released to developers in the market. This version has features like migrations, support for database systems, and a unique command-line interface called Artisan. It boosted a quality packaging system known as bundles.
This first stable PHP Framework version was released in 2011 in June. Currently, developers mostly use the Laravel 5.0 and above series with the 5.6 version being released in 2018 in February and its subsequent version 5.7 released in September 2018. The latest version of Laravel 7.12 was released in March 2020 and is widely used by developers to create fully customized websites.
Now, let us take a look as to why Laravel is so popular today-
- MVC Support- It boosts an expressive syntax making it object-oriented. It uses architectural patterns-View, Model, and Controller.
- In-Built Authentication and Authorization- This in-built feature with Artisan Commands makes Laravel extremely secure for users.
- Unique Packages- Get better automation with a packaging system equipped with multiple libraries and software for support. The Laravel development services have a dependency manager with a composer that handles all the information needed to manage the packages. They are an excellent way to boost development to offer the developer out-of-the-box functionality. Some of the best packages for Laravel are Laravel IDE Helper and Laravel Debug Bar.
- System for Multiple Files- Laravel has prebuilt support for Cloud storage like Rack space Cloud, Amazon S3, and local storage. The API is the same for every system, and the developer can seamlessly switch between them.
- Scheduling of Tasks- Scheduler was introduced in Laravel 5.0 to supplement Artisan. It helps to schedule periodic tasks in the program that needs to be carried out frequently. It banks on the Cron daemon to execute these tasks.
- Template Engine- Laravel is famous for the Blade Template Engine prebuilt in the framework. Here, the developer can combine more than one template with a data model for the desired view. The templates are converted into PHP code that is cached to boost performance.
- Broadcasting and Events- Laravel has a unique feature called Broadcasting that helps the developer execute live feeds, real-time data, etc. It enables you to share a similar event name between the client and server-side, allowing you to get data from the real-time app.
- Artisan Console- Laravel has its interface for command-line called Artisan. With it, the developer can-
- Publish package assets.
- Manage database migration.
- Seed and generate boilerplate codes for new migrations, controllers, and models.
Artisan helps the developer to save time when it comes to the execution of proper codes. These custom codes extend the functionality and capability of Laravel.
- Eloquent Object Relational Mapper- Laravel has the best ORM compared to its peers. It is prebuilt and permits the developer to seamlessly interact with database objects and relationships using the expressive syntax.
- Testing- Laravel contains a default testing system to detect and curb regressions in its framework. The integration of PHP units, like a framework for testing, is simple in a Laravel app. Besides the above, unit tests can be executed via Artisan.
Laravel application and its official packages available
The following are the official packages available for Laravel-
- Cashier
- Socialite
- Horizon
- Passport
- Scout
With the help of a good Laravel development company, you can build web applications from small to enterprise levels. However, ensure you choose an experienced and credible Laravel developer for your projects.
Laravel offers a wide range of functionalities for any web application. Developers can work seamlessly with all of the official Laravel packages listed above.
Thanks to its unique features, developers can deliver projects much ahead of the expected time frames. It is budget-friendly and ideal for small to large businesses looking for the best framework for PHP projects.
