- June 13, 2013
- Posted by: Vishal Shah
- Category: Optiinfo
A PHP framework is a set of PHP functions and classes followed by developed while developing a website. A well defined coding template is given to the place at which you want to put certain kinds of code.
Community
PHP frameworks have community support and among the many Codelgniter is an active framework.
Convention over configuration
Configuration setting is a crucial area where frameworks deal with many scenarios. Convention over configuration decreases the complexity of configuration settings and additionally, configuration files give more control and flexibility.
Database support
Generally web apps employ a database to keep permanent user data. PHP frameworks have good support for MySQL and other popular database drivers such as MS Server and Oracle. Some PHP frameworks also use object-relational mapping, which simplifies the database code inside a web project. Symfony, a popular PHP framework uses a 3rd party object-relational mapping called Doctrine.
Documentation
For official reference documentation is significantly employed. No one would like a dig through search for the source code to view how things work. PHP frameworks come with documentation that go with each feature.
Other features of PHP framework
– Caching: since more content is accessed in a variety of ways, caching has important role in a PHP framework. Frameworks have different levels of caching techniques. There are web owners choosing 3rd party tools such as Squid.
– Helper tools: these definite PHP tools do one task only.
– Unit testing: automated testing of code can be done using this tool. This is recommended for major projects. PHP frameworks have their own testing suite than that of other frameworks.
– Form generation: PHP frameworks are known for this feature.Forms are used in web apps and PHP frameworks have validation attributes to help developers to add web forms.
– Session: this feature is used to add attributes on top of the current PHP session.
– Templates: the organization of codes within a view is handled here.
– 3rd party module
– Access Control Lists
How to choose a framework?
Choosing a framework can greatly depend on project conditions and moreover, any technique is a personal philosophical selection. Sole agency may look for an immediate turnaround with a short learning curve while a big company may want strong software that has features of Java. Length of service is another significant element that closely relates to documentation. PHP frameworks with an extended history have a good pool of knowledge. Though cost may be a problem, PHP frameworks that have steeper learning curves will need skilled coders and this indicates higher wages. Large projects need commercial support and this is why PHP frameworks take the seat.
People who look for a career in PHP coding will find great with Zend as it is the most popular framework that companies demand.
Other technologies
No PHP framework can be used alone. Integration with 3rd party software is important. It is quite to say that the larger the PHP framework, the harder this is to perform. Integrating JavaScript frameworks is straightforward and it more or less includes the frontend. PHP frameworks are equipped with helper functions for containing CSS and JavaScript files. So, you just need to include the library as a straight scrip tag in the HTML. PHP frameworks can manage multitude of popular security issues such as XSS, SQL injection and XSRF. PHP frameworks have configurations when it comes to SEO and is made to deal with needs such as URL rewriting. Since speed is an important element for SEO, framework’s size should be considered well.
Web developers employ PHP scripting language to create dynamic websites. PHP frameworks give them with different elements of formulation PHP code in the kind of objects. This is because the PHP code has been written already and developers don’t need to repeat the coding process but just call the objects. PHP frameworks contain a minimum number of these objects and they don’t burden developers with many objects that they don’t require. Hence, PHP frameworks help developers to create web applications.
Let’s look at the popular lightweight PHP frameworks.
CodeIgniter
This framework features operation within a small footprint. It needs little start-up configuration and developers don’t need to use a command line prompt. It includes an optional template parser however, developers don’t need to understand a templating language.
Light VC and Cough PHP
These are sister frameworks that separate the conventional model-view controller construction. Light VC framework is often used by PHP developers for handling views and controllers. Second one is designed to operate as a model and functions with objects that have a single database table counterpart.
Fat-Free PHP Framework
The foundation of this framework deploys in a one 55k file. It contains many basic PHP characteristics such as spam filter, HTML forms processor, URL routing engine and a testing tool. This framework does not need pre-configuration and it claims to be the only PHP framework with 3 object-relation mappers with modeling and data abstraction. Developers are allowed to expand the base of this framework through its library of plug-ins.
Propel ORM
This framework aims to create database coding fun for web developers and claims to be used on many websites. It lets developers to sort, query, filter and join database queries. It works with different SQL databases such as MySQL, Oracle, MSSQL, SQLite and PostgreSQL.
Fitzgerald
This small PHP framework strives to clone the characteristics of the Sinatra framework for Ruby. This framework is perfect for developers who look for making fundamental authentication systems.
Conclusion
Mostly, PHP frameworks help a lot with any project. But, with a tool, circumstances determine how the framework can help. For sites with much more content, WordPress or Drupal would be better fit. For social media sites, CakePHP or CodeIgniter would be good and for corporate ambiance, Symfony or Zend is the perfect fit. Consider your requirements and capacity of your website before choosing a PHP framework. Pick the right and most suitable framework to experience better browsing experience.
Post By
Sam is a freelance article writer who writes on technology, SEO, web design and many more topics. He has recently shared an article on social networks which provides the tips on Magento extensions.