Laravel is a powerful, open-source PHP framework designed for building modern web applications. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern and provides an elegant syntax aimed at making web development tasks easier, faster, and more enjoyable for developers. Laravel is a free and open-source PHP-based web framework for building web applications. It was created by Taylor Otwell and intended for the development of web applications following the model–view–controller architectural pattern and based on Symfony.
Laravel offers a rich set of functionalities which incorporates the basic features of PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter, Yii and other programming languages like Ruby on Rails. Laravel has a very rich set of features which will boost the speed of web development.
If you are familiar with Core PHP and Advanced PHP, Laravel will make your task easier. It saves a lot time if you are planning to develop a website from scratch. Moreover, a website built in Laravel is secure and prevents several web attacks.
Features of Laravel
Laravel offers the following key features which makes it an ideal choice for designing web applications −
Modularity
Laravel provides 20 built in libraries and modules which helps in enhancement of the application. Every module is integrated with Composer dependency manager which eases updates.
Testability
Laravel includes features and helpers which helps in testing through various test cases. This feature helps in maintaining the code as per the requirements.
Routing
Laravel provides a flexible approach to the user to define routes in the web application. Routing helps to scale the application in a better way and increases its performance.
Configuration Management
A web application designed in Laravel will be running on different environments, which means that there will be a constant change in its configuration. Laravel provides a consistent approach to handle the configuration in an efficient way.
Query Builder and ORM
Laravel incorporates a query builder which helps in querying databases using various simple chain methods. It provides ORM (Object Relational Mapper) and ActiveRecord implementation called Eloquent.
Schema Builder
Schema Builder maintains the database definitions and schema in PHP code. It also maintains a track of changes with respect to database migrations.
Template Engine
Laravel uses the Blade Template engine, a lightweight template language used to design hierarchical blocks and layouts with predefined blocks that include dynamic content.
E-mail
Laravel includes a mail class which helps in sending mail with rich content and attachments from the web application.
Authentication
User authentication is a common feature in web applications. Laravel eases designing authentication as it includes features such as register, forgot password and send password reminders.
Redis
Laravel uses Redis to connect to an existing session and general-purpose cache. Redis interacts with session directly.
Queues
Laravel includes queue services like emailing large number of users or a specified Cron job. These queues help in completing tasks in an easier manner without waiting for the previous task to be completed.
Event and Command Bus
Laravel 5.1 includes Command Bus which helps in executing commands and dispatch events in a simple way. The commands in Laravel act as per the application’s lifecycle.