The resources provided by open source PHP frameworks help developers to build robust websites and web applications within a shorter amount of time and without increasing project overheads. The web developers also have option to choose from many open source PHP frameworks. But the usage statistics posted on various websites indicate that a large percentage of PHP developers prefer Laravel to Symfony2, CodeIgniter, Symfony, Yii or CakePHP. In addition to following model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, Laravel simplifies common web development tasks like sessions, caching, routing and authentication.
Also, it enables developers to write web applications with expressive and elegant system. The most recent version of Laravel also comes with a number of new features and enhancements. While using Laravel 5, the developers can take advantage of a package called Scheduler to schedule the periodically executed tasks. Likewise, they can also use remote storage just like normal file systems through an abstraction layer called Flysystem. There are also a number of reasons why Laravel will keep trending over a longer period of time.
Why Laravel will remain more popular than Other PHP Frameworks?
Composer
The developers can easily extend Laravel by using a number of external packages of code. Laravel further helps users to manage the external packages efficiently by using a robust dependency manager like Composer. They can also use Composer to set up new Laravel projects without downloading additional resources from GitHub. Also, Composer can be installed and updated easily through simple commands. The users can simply make changes to the composer.json file to add new packages to the Laravel application.
Eloquent ORM
While using Laravel, the developers can work with multiple databases efficiently using Eloquent object relational mapping (ORM). Eloquent ORM is designed as an ActiveRecord implementation which allows users to perform common database operations through functions and without writing complex SQL queries. The programmers are simply required to define the databases and their interrelationship. Based on the interrelationship between databases defined by the user, Eloquent ORM performs common database operations.
Efficient Class Mapping and Loading
Laravel 3 enabled developers to load class definitions only at the time of requirements using Autoloader class. The feature allows users to map classes to a variety of files through specific standards. Also, the developers have option to map the classes individually using namespaces. They can even use Composer to structure the entire file system of the web application according to their specific needs.
Routing System
Laravel enables programmers to adopt a routing approach which is both simple and easy. They are simply required to create the appropriate directory for each URI, and create links to various named routes. While writing PHP code, Laravel automatically inserts the URI based on link to named routes. Also, it can update the routes automatically each time the routes change.
Automatic Pagination
Laravel enables programmers to implement application logic in a flexible and simple way. The developers can further keep the application logic structured and clutter-free by using various pagination configurations. They can even use the feature to count the number of database records, and select the data to be displayed in the view through a feature called paginate.
Blade Templates
While using Laravel, developers can take advantage of an elegant but easy to use templating engine like Blade. Blade allows programmers to include plain PHP code in the application’s views. It further compiles the views in to PHP code, along with caching the PHP code till any modification is done to the views. At the same time, Blade makes it easier for programmers to define and extend a layout and display data without adding any overheads to the PHP web application.
HTTP Middleware
In addition to supporting RESTful routing, Laravel allows users to filter HTTP requests through a HTTP middleware. The middleware checks if the person accessing the website is authenticated or not by filtering all incoming HTTP requests. If the person accessing the application is not authenticates, the middleware redirects him to the login page. Hence, the HTTP middleware allows only authenticated users to access the web application.
Simplified Authentication>
Laravel enables programmers to implement a variety of authentications without writing complex code. In addition to authenticate views, database, storage, routing and other important components of the PHP application, the programmers also have option to customize behavior of authentication services. They can further implement the authentication simply by making changes to the well-documented options included in the authentication configuration file.
Unit Testing
Laravel makes it easier for developers to perform unit testing by using robust unit testing framework like PHPUnit. As it sets up the phpunit.xml file for the project by default, the programmers can start writing test cases directly. The users also have option to define custom test methods, check a particular functionality of the website, and evaluate specific units of the source code.
Though Laravel is a good framework for PHP developers to work but still Laravel also has a number of shortcomings like other PHP frameworks. But it has been evolving consistently to overcome these shortcomings. Each new version of Laravel also comes with a number of new features and enhancements to meet the emerging trends in web application development.
Great… Excellent sharing.. This is very helpful for beginers.