What is the Laravel Framework and Why is it widely used?
One of the most essential aspects of web development is selecting tech stacks that ensure that you have robust and productive software. There are several languages and frameworks to pick from and each one of them works exceptionally for its type of project.
Table of Content:
1. Introduction
4. Is Laravel frontend or backend?
5. Is Laravel easy to learn? What is the best way to learn Laravel?
6. Conclusion
1. Introduction
However, most of us are more inclined towards PHP frameworks compared to others. Hence, determining the right PHP development framework can be challenging, especially when the choice is from Codeigniter to Laravel, Symfony, CakePHP, Yii, Zend, and Slim.
In the last few years, Laravel has paved the way to the top as the best PHP MVC framework. And here are some of the top Laravel Features that make Laravel the best PHP Framework:
- Object-Oriented Libraries
- MVC Support
- Multiple File System
- Blade Templating Engine
- Advanced Authentication and Authorization
- Artisan
- Automated Discovery of the Package
The post created by eTatvasoft experts has explained these features in-depth and it is one of the best detail-oriented posts for those who are still in dilemma whether Laravel is the best PHP framework for web development or not.
As a lot of people wonder while creating a web application, whether Laravel is a great option for a single one-page website and a complete full-fledged social network or not.
Several web developers add Laravel in their tech stacks as it lets them develop robust and efficient back-ends for their projects.
In this article, to get through the aspect of whether to use Laravel or not, we will discuss some of the essential prospects of the Laravel framework as well as why it is widely used among experts and how to choose Laravel for your software development project.
1.1 What is Laravel?
Laravel was originally adopted for developing custom web apps utilizing PHP. It’s a web framework that manages several things that are bothersome to create yourself like routing, templating HTML, and authentication.
Laravel is completely server-side because it runs on PHP, and concentrates gradually on data manipulation and clinging to a Model-View-Controller pattern.
A framework such as React might place most of its consideration on user interaction and bright features, but Laravel only offers a stable foundation for you to create ahead and perform it right.
There is no doubt that Laravel is one of the best PHP web frameworks, however, there are several other frameworks in various languages. Rails is also a server-side provided framework, same as Laravel, but it is based on Ruby.
However, React, Vue, and Angular are all client-side JavaScript frameworks and can be prepared to provide server-side services as well.
1.2 What Is Laravel Used For?
Laravel is an open-source PHP framework created to start producing web apps more comfortable and durable by built-in features. These features are one of the reasons that make Laravel so extensively used by web developers.
A modular packaging system along with dependency management. This suggests you can simply combine functionalities to your Laravel app without creating them from the start.
You can either design your own packages for code you regularly practice or establish ready-to-use packages by Composer.
- Laravel is a comprehensive authentication system
- Its Eloquent ORM involved with Laravel offers database tables in the form of classes for quick data access and manipulation.
- A command-line interface (CLI) that appears with several pre-built commands (Artisan).
- Automated tests are presented as an essential part of Laravel.
- A portable, practical development condition. Homestead presents developers with all the means needed to produce Laravel directly out of the box.
2. How Does Laravel Work?
Laravel utilizes a design pattern named Model-View-Controller, or MVC.
The Model depicts the state of the data your application works on. If you have a record of users, all with a record of posts they’ve done, that’s your model.
The Controller communicates with this model. If a user demands to examine their posts side, the controller communicates to the model through the database and reclaims the information. If the user needs to create a new post, the controller informs the model. The controller includes most of the reasoning for your application.
The controller practices that data to create a View. The view is a template that helps the model to be plugged into and displayed, and it can be handled by the controller. The view can be considered as the application’s HTML components too. a
Laravel applies this structure to control custom apps. It utilizes the Blade templating engine, which provides HTML to be split into parts and controlled by the controller.
It all begins with routes, set in routes/web.php, that manage HTTP applications based on the area being demanded.
3. Why is Laravel So Popular?
Laravel has been famous amongst web developers for over 10 years and it is still one of the most chosen server-side frameworks on PHP.
As per the Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 51.4% of users favor using Laravel for developing their web applications. Also, some of them claim that Laravel is listed among the most famous PHP frameworks.
Let’s understand what draws PHP developers to Laravel. For that, we will have a brief understanding of its excellent features.
3.1 Blade Template Engine
Laravel’s Blade template engine lets experts run with textual data in web apps. For this, it manages several operations such as correlating data models, preparing the application’s code in the reference templates, and leading the output to a specific text file or stream.
The Blade template supports web developers to immediately prepare the data with its designs without any influence on the web application’s execution or activity.
3.2 Unit Testing With PHPUnit
Laravel renders web developers with PHPUnit — an examination framework for performing unit tests. PHPUnit combines the two foremost testing records — Feature and Unit.
With Unit tests, PHPUnit conducts tests on shortcode chunks, whereas Feature analyses manage longer codebases that can involve several objects.
PHPUnit guarantees that Laravel-based web apps are well-tested and run correctly. With PHPUnit developers reduce the number of defects in the developed app, preserving time on searching and setting them.
3.3 Eloquent ORM
Eloquent ORM eases web developers’ jobs with databases. It supports establishing and managing manageable interactions between a web application’s design and its databases.
For this, the ORM practices a significant PHP syntax rather than complicated SQL code, preserving web developers’ time.
4. Is Laravel frontend or backend?
The precise answer is “backend”. And in other words, Laravel is a server-side PHP framework. Using that you can build full-stack apps, which means apps with features usually lacking a backend, like user accounts, shipping, system management, etc.
5. Is Laravel easy to learn? What is the best way to learn Laravel?
Laravel is known to have a short-term training period, particularly if you’re previously accustomed to PHP. Even during difficulties, the community is very considerate and there is plenty of support to assist you to learn Laravel from the start, from podcasts and videos.
A great method to use Laravel is to understand the documentation, watch some of the online tutorials made by Taylor Otwell, Jeffrey Way, and Freek Van der Herten. Lastly, begin developing your project and find information as you go.
6. Conclusion
Laravel is a robust framework that enables creating web applications of every complexity and scope from single one-page websites to enterprise-level solutions.
The framework has a collection of excellent tools that analyzes and automate the bulk of web development tasks, preserving web developers’ time and effort.
If you are interested in building a steady and effective web application for your company, then you need the best Laravel developers.
