For many organizations, web development essentials include efficiency, flexibility and creating accessible applications to update, maintain and extend the existing features. In addition, an organization should achieve all these while ensuring that timelines and costs are kept within acceptable levels.
Where an organization opts to move into agile methodologies that help to provide quick and customized solutions, it is imperative to use a technology that supports agile workflow and application development.
There are several Frameworks and Programming Languages in the market that help in building Agile Solutions but as compared to all the available Stacks, PHP is the one that Comes up with a collection of Potential Frameworks that are actually contributing well in developing effective Application Development.
The PHP frameworks are a set of process conventions and technologies that simplify and accelerate application development and maintenance. A framework provides certain functionalities to an application through ready-made features and practices.
To improve efficiency and productivity, it is essential to eliminate the need for writing countless lines of code to make the software flexible enough for future use modifications. In such a scenario, the following agile application development practices will create a robust application foundation, and this framework provides the tools to achieve this.
This post will discuss why PHP frameworks are the most preferred stack for agile application development. Among all the available frameworks and development languages, PHP is the one that is highly recommended by experts, So, let's get started and understand it in a deeper sense.
What is the PHP framework?
Before we dig deep into the benefits of using PHP frameworks in agile web development, let us first understand what a PHP framework is.
PHP framework is a set of design elements that allow you to create web applications by coding in PHP. They support the development process and make programming easier. The commonly used PHP frameworks include Laravel, Symfony, CakePHP, CodeIgniter, Yii, Zend, etc., which we will discuss in detail later.
The focus on easy extensibility and quick integration with third-party services make the PHP framework stand out from the traditional software development approach. These attributes make it even easier for developers to deploy code for multiple purposes and target markets repeatedly.
Benefits of Using PHP Frameworks for Agile Application Development?
PHP frameworks have been around for quite a while and are used by millions worldwide to develop web applications faster.
There are many business benefits that PHP frameworks provide. When used correctly, they provide a complete system for building web applications, including the majority of back-end functions, models for graphical user interfaces, a standardised set of libraries for communication between individual modules, and more.
Here are some benefits of choosing PHP frameworks over other Technology Stacks for Agile Application Development:-
- Saves effort – You can reduce the development time by using popular frameworks like Symfony (developed in PHP for web applications). Your development team does not have to write the same things twice; they can use the libraries already written for them.
- Better security, testing, and documentation – Every software framework contains libraries and functions that boost security and improve internal test results. When using a PHP framework for agile development, you need not worry about documentation because the framework has it, which you can also benefit from.
- Keeps things simple – PHP frameworks help you keep things simple and friendlier. There is no need to write everything from scratch. The framework is ready to use and has a pre-designed structure and pre-defined mechanisms. It helps you in avoiding errors in code and helps you make fewer mistakes.
- Automated testing is essential - It becomes a nightmare if your app requires thousands of tests to pass. Using PHP frameworks, you can make it faster and simpler to pass thousands of tests, thanks to its coding assistance facility. You can even have tests that validate each other so that things are tested for a more secure environment.
- Powerful debugging: When you run tests, you observe how the system works and identify errors like missing texts, and bugs during the development process. Not every framework performs efficiently. But most PHP frameworks have a debugging and profiling system that can pinpoint areas where the system is idle. It helps developers find areas to optimize and increase fault tolerance. Also, using a framework such as Laravel provides a testing system to debug and profile the code quickly. It increases the speed of prototype development and enhances efficiency.
- Communication between components – The various requirements imposed on agile web development demand flexible communication between components. The modular architecture used in agile development makes the framework a proper communication between components. It lets developers learn how the different components remain secure and perform their functions.
Top PHP Frameworks for Agile Development that possess the potential to be chosen over the Other Frameworks and Technology Platforms
Here are several PHP frameworks that developers can choose from to build and customize web applications.
Laravel is a cloud-based open-source web framework for the agile methodology that powers millions of developers worldwide. It is comfortable with simple syntax and MVC design principles, making it easier to create or add to a web application for small and large teams. It has a clean architecture and an elegant syntax, which make it the top choice for agile development.
Using Laravel, you will also be able to write simple and expressive code, like writing one line of PHP from several different structures. It is easy to customise complex architecture through Laravel. A well-equipped Laravel app development company makes it easy to create applications quickly for a wide range of business needs. Authentication, routing, sessions, caching and other tasks can be performed easily through Laravel.
Symfony is a fully managed PHP application framework where users can easily reuse code elements for different projects.
You can use this framework to develop web applications of any size. Most developers consider Symfony the best web design framework for creating a quick, robust, scalable application.
Because Symfony has such a rich set of components, you can think of thousands of scenarios in which you can reuse your Symfony code again.
Symfony is also a top choice in agile development to include in your team's credentials. So, if you are searching for a framework that provides the best level of security, durability, and support, Symfony is perfect for you.
With the inclusion of Composer, you can complete tasks faster because you can create custom artefacts and get them installed with the click of a button.
Also, It includes a super-intuitive administrator interface, a command-line interface, and forms. Symfony utilizes Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) for rapid application development.
CakePHP is designed for web applications and web content that serves the client side and the server side at the same time.
It is an object-oriented PHP framework with a simple model-view-controller (MVC) structure. You can use CakePHP as it is or include modules for a website, user management, authentication, caching, analytics, security, and sessions.
CakePHP provides feedback for installation and configuration so that developers can make adjustments at any time. Improvements are as easy as hot-swapping modules and adding or removing new ones can also be done quickly.
CodeIgniter is an open-source software framework written in PHP for developing web applications following the Model–View–Controller approach.
CodeIgniter promotes good coding practices, offering tools to create robust, secure and fast web applications. Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, CodeIgniter has excellent features and offers a low learning curve, making it easy to kickstart a web application development.
Some key features of CodeIgniter include:
- MVC web application framework
- Intelligent routing with URL helpers and controllers
- Use of relational, flexible and strong full-featured database libraries
- OOP, active record pattern for beginners and ActiveModel for object-relational mappers
- Free, open-source licensed software under strict MIT/GPLv2 license
- Reusable, modular extensions
- Grokking CodeIgniter library
- PHP CodeIgniter framework
Phalcon has unique characteristics that distinguish it from the competition among other PHP frameworks, which is why it's worth taking a look at.
It provides speedy response times, is easy to use, and offers high performance via minor memory consumption. Because of most of its development standards, it is straightforward to use and contributes to faster development.
It has powerful C-extension support and various lightweight MVC controllers that can be beneficial for speeding up the development of non-PHP developers. It can be handled by more ordinary persons, as opposed to those who know a few programming languages.
The main point is that due to its characteristics and versatility, it is suitable for the development of any kind of application, regardless of whether it will actively use the database or other high-performance and fast-accessible resources.
Being fully object-oriented, it can be easily combined with other frameworks and is quite popular among developers for the clearness of the code. Integrating Phalcon in a web application ensures flexibility and scalability for future development.
Zend is an open-source software framework for developing PHP applications released under the Zend Technologies licence.
The framework provides components that help developers build secure web applications by providing authentication, security and database access tools.
The MVC design pattern supported by Zend facilitates faster web development. The Zend PHP framework makes the integration of well-known PHP libraries very easy. Hence, with Zend, familiar PHP frameworks can be used by beginners and experts.
For Agile, Zend is a safe bet for developers who want a secure, flexible, open-source, and well-supported framework.
Another PHP framework that can help you reach your goals is Yii. The application framework built on PHP7.2 draws on the best ideas from other frameworks. It helps to prevent you from finding hundreds of low-level components to satisfy your agile project's needs, as many developers have experienced before.
Yii can handle the repetitive parts of agile application development because it is also an MVC framework. You can also adapt to changing agile requirements with little effect on your code's structure.
Conclusion
In conclusion, having a website which is developed based on an agile environment, PHP is the best choice for such web development today. It also comes free of cost and provides many features and built-in libraries.
When we talk about agile development, PHP has the best solutions for developers. Additionally, several PHP frameworks are well-tested and used by many developers worldwide. You can choose anyone from the list, according to your development needs and then move forward to start your development work.
After reading the article, you can easily understand that the PHP framework you choose is critical for agile development which is imperative for your sustainable business growth.
You must consult multiple strategies and expert developers and understand the business goals before choosing the appropriate PHP framework for your agile projects. Else, you might end up in a downfall and permanent failure. So be conscious of your decision.
What strategy will you leverage for using PHP frameworks in your web development? Share your views in the comments section below!
Author: Harikrishna Kundariya
Harikrishna Kundariya, a marketer, developer, IoT, ChatBot & Blockchain savvy, designer, co-founder, Director of eSparkBiz Technologies. His 10+ experience enables him to provide digital solutions to new start-ups based on IoT and ChatBot.