When building a solution or a software product, there are many choices. Most companies prefer open-source programming languages and frameworks. It is no wonder, knowing that PHP is one of the most widely used online programming languages. Additionally, a whopping 79% of all websites are developed using PHP, including many of the sites you use daily, like Facebook, Wikipedia, Yahoo, MailChimp, and Pinterest. When it comes to server-side programming languages, it is eight times more prominent than ASP.NET.
A PHP framework serves as a building block for PHP web applications. It is a free and open-source server-side language that can be incorporated into HTML. PHP frameworks offer code libraries for frequently used functions, reducing the amount of special code you would write. The language is not restricted to HTML and can produce text and graphic files in various formats. There are numerous advantages of using PHP frameworks rather than coding from scratch. Using PHP frameworks can improve your development process. These improvements affect every aspect of your business, including security and productivity.
Learn more about PHP frameworks, their applications, and some of the most well-liked ones by reading on.
Also, a hat tip to our Project Manager, Muhammad Naqash, for this blog post idea.
What is a Framework?
A framework is a structure on which software can be built. Since it acts as a foundation, you are not starting from scratch. Frameworks are often linked to a particular programming language and are useful for various tasks.
Developing apps with a software framework allows you to concentrate on the application’s high-level functionality. This is due to the framework’s inherent ability to handle any low-level functionality.
This article will discuss the two main PHP frameworks, i.e., Laravel and Symfony.
Introduction to Laravel and Symfony
Laravel, known as the “PHP framework for Web Artisans,” has an excellent community and is the most well-liked framework. It is a web application framework with a clean and expressive syntax. The open-source framework uses a reliable and simple model-view-controller design pattern. Google Trends reports that Laravel is the most powerful PHP framework, providing a standardized and feature-rich platform for the building of high-performing PHP web applications. Many hosting firms offer Laravel support and hosting solutions for Laravel apps. To see amazing example projects, visit the Built with Laravel website.
Symfony is a collection of reusable PHP components that allow developers to build scalable, high-performance applications. The developer can experiment and operate in a RAD environment with 30 components to pick from. Additionally, Symfony APIs make it simple to integrate with applications developed by others, and it works with well-known front-end frameworks like AngularJS. Symfony is also used by several major applications, including Drupal and phpBB. The most popular PHP framework, Laravel, is based on Symfony. It is primarily used for complex business projects.
Key features
Laravel
Laravel is simple to use while offering the features required for large, robust applications.
Here are some features of the PHP Laravel Framework that make it so widely used by programmers and organizations.
- A simple way to organize authorization logic and control access to resources.
- It allows developers to build responsive and modular apps with their pre-built in modern libraries.
- It is renowned for its pre-built, lightweight templates that can be used to build stunning layouts with dynamic content seeding.
- It allows you to change, clean, and customize layouts without coding hassle.
- Help developers to query the database tables without writing SQL syntax or complex codes.
- MVC-based architecture design pattern that helps to develop web applications faster.
- Laravel has a secure migration process which decreases the workload and helps developers to make changes in the database without putting extra effort.
- It has an inbuilt web application security and uses a “Bcrypt Hashing Algorithm” for protection against security threats.
Symfony
Symfony is a robust back-end framework used to create complex applications. Below is some prominent features:
- The Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework.
- High performance in web application development.
- A flexible URI routing.
- Creates reusable code that is simpler to maintain.
- It enables you to manage sessions and keep track of faults.
- It has a sizable developer community that stays active.
- Fully featured database classes with cross-platform compatibility.
- A collection of decoupled and reusable components.
- Application interoperability and standardization.
- Security from attacks such as cross-site request forgery.
Symfony vs. Laravel; which is better?
Both frameworks offer many powerful and valuable web development tools and features. Let’s compare the features of Laravel and Symfony in more detail.
Similarities
Both frameworks offer many powerful and valuable web development tools and features. Let’s compare the features of Laravel and Symfony in more detail.
- First and foremost, they use PHP as their programming language, which is the most apparent choice.
- They are cross-platform, which implies that they may be used on various computing platforms.
- Both are multi-user and multi-language content, offering the application’s framework, interface design patterns, and text search support.
- They are based on the MVC design pattern (which means there are no significant conceptual differences).
- There is a Command Line Interface (CLI) tool provided for typical tasks.
- They have integrated internationalization tools (allowing you to easily support multiple languages within your application.)
Differences
Symfony | Laravel |
Symfony is a PHP web application framework that includes a collection of reusable PHP components and libraries. | Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework based on the Symfony MVC architectural design. |
Symfony uses the Twig template system. | Laravel employs the Blade templating system. |
It uses Doctrine for database access. | It uses Eloquent for database access. |
Doctrine migrations are fully automated. The model simply has to be defined by the programmer. | Eloquent migrations are manual; however, the programmer is not required to define the model’s fields. |
Symfony supports middleware via the observer pattern. | Laravel supports middleware by implementing the decorator pattern. |
The programmer can only validate a model in Symfony. | Programmers in Laravel can validate either by manual validation request or in a form. |
The advanced panel in Symfony can show issues. | Laravel offers a straightforward panel for basic profiling and displaying exceptions. |
Symphony contains about 2830 bundles. | Laravel contains around 9000 packages. |
Laravel
Pros
- It is always up to date with the latest PHP features.
- It enables API integration between the most widely used email services and apps.
- It is also adaptable to various platforms and libraries from third parties.
- It has a vast ecosystem of extra features.
Cons
- Some Laravel-built applications could be larger and take longer to load on mobile devices.
- The code may break if you update Laravel to a newer version because updates are incompatible.
- If you are new to development, it could be harder to learn.
- Legacy systems are difficult to transfer to Laravel.
Symfony
Pros
- A vast number of developers are actively using Symfony. It has one of the largest communities on the market.
- Symfony is a recommended framework since it is used by well-known platforms like Drupal, Magento, and eZ Publish.
- To stay current with the demands of web developers, Symfony is updated frequently.
Cons
- In the beginning, Symfony may be more challenging to understand than any other PHP framework.
- There aren’t any origin elements because it depends on other technologies, which could cause some applications to load more slowly.
- The development process is slower since additional testing time is needed due to the requirement to prebuild code for various purposes.
When you need to develop and launch your app quickly and don’t want to spend a lot of money, Laravel seems to be the ideal solution. You can acquire a lot of ready-to-use implementations that simplify the task when you choose to download Laravel. With this framework, authorization is quite simple—during migration, you should simply configure a database and models. Laravel‘s magic methods are its biggest asset because they allow you to avoid writing overly complex and lengthy code.
Symfony is an excellent choice for long-term, complex projects. When you want to customize your application, it demands greater financial investments but pays off in the end. This framework contains bundles; you can make significant changes at the bundle level without modifying the entire project.
Which one do we use at Genetech?
We have a professional team of PHP Laravel developers at Genetech, and we prefer Laravel because of its adaptability and simplicity in handling routine tasks like authentication, routing, sessions, caching, and much more that are essentially required in every well-maintained website. Scaling any project with Laravel is easier as it accelerates and improves the development process. Whether we are using it for creating a prototype or a full-fledged business application for our clients, Laravel covers all of our project requirements. In addition, it has a substantial number of pre-built libraries and packages that further aid the development team.
Conclusion
Both Symphony and Laravel are widely used and reliable frameworks. Both have their pros and cons but picking the right one depends on your requirements, budget, timeline, and the technical expertise of the team. We hope that after considering these factors and reading this post, you will be able to select the best framework for your project.
Need help developing the best web application for your business? Our team of skilled Laravel developers at Genentech has a wealth of expertise and experience. Contact us for further details.