Symfony vs Laravel : which PHP framework to choose 

The two most well-known PHP frameworks among developers are Symfony and Laravel. Here are the factors to take into consideration when deciding between these two mastodons to complete a web development project.

Laravel & Symfony : two powerful PHP frameworks

Laravel is an open source framework based on the model-view-controller (MVC) design model. Benefiting from a simple and fast coding approach to create a web application, it implements already existing components taken from several frameworks. In addition, it includes the basic functionality of PHP frameworks such as Yii, CodeIgniter and Ruby on Rails.

As for Symfony, it is another open source PHP framework that draws its power from components such as Propel, Doctrine, PHPUnit, Twig, Swift Mailer, but also from Symfony YAML, Symfony Event Dispatcher, Symfony Dependency Injector, and Symfony Templating.
Considered mature and robust, it is used in complex web development projects.

What are the similarities between Symfony and Laravel?

The first and most obvious similarity between Symfony and Laravel is that both use PHP as their primary programming language. Additionally, remember:

·    Multi-platform, the two frameworks are development platforms implemented on several platforms;

·     They create content that is multilingual and multiuser;

·     They provide the skeleton of the web application, the template for the interfaces while supporting text search.

Features of Laravel

Laravel is popular for several reasons:

·    Its ability to automate many processes in an application development project while facilitating common web development tasks (authentication, routing, sessions, caching).

·    The default presence of Blade, a template engine, described by the developers as light and easy to use.

·     Its ability to create layouts with dynamic content thanks to the addition of CSS and JS files in the templates.

·     Its code panel, which does not limit developers to using simple PHP code in views.

Strong points of Laravel

Libraries: Developers have a very interesting panel of pre-installed, third-party, object-oriented libraries, etc. Thanks to them, they can add functionalities to create efficient and fast web applications.

Artisan CLI (Command Line Interface): it allows to automate repetitive programming tasks in order to save time, but also to write clearer codes, to create database structures, thus facilitating their use. Artisan can be used to create, manage and configure basic MVC files directly from a command line. Finally, it gives web developers the ability to create their own commands for easier and more efficient file management.

Eloquent ORM: this tool, known to be one of the fastest in the PHP frameworks sector, allows developers to directly query databases thanks to the PHP syntax.

MVC architecture: It allows software developers to create efficient applications with improved performance and a variety of built-in features.

Migration system for databases: it reduces the risk of losing data by extending the structure of any database in an application. As a result, developers no longer need to recreate databases if they change structure.
Unit testing of codes: developers have unit testing tools at their disposal while having the possibility to conduct several tests at the same time.
Security: application codes are very vulnerable to attacks, unless you use Laravel, which provides protection tools.

Unit testing of codes: developers have unit testing tools at their disposal while having the possibility to conduct several tests at the same time.

Security: application codes are very vulnerable to attacks, unless you use Laravel, which provides protection tools.
 

What are the advantages of Laravel ?

The following are reasons why application developers like Laravel:

·  The framework is always up to date with respect to PHP feature versions;

· It allows the integration of popular applications and messaging services via API ;

·  It is compatible with other platforms and third-party libraries;

· It has a wide range of additional tools.

Feature of Symfony

Developers recommend Symfony for the following reasons:

·    This framework was created specifically to optimize the development of web applications, and its feature set grows with each new release;

·     Flexible and synonymous with flexibility, it has many features dedicated to code readability, debugging and development of extensible programs;

·     Its tools make it possible to create complex web applications with unique or standardized functionalities.

Strong points of Symfony

Bundles: Symfony organizes file collections under a certain structure called "bundle". Each bundle can be used and reconfigured several times by the developers, thus reducing costs and delivery times.

Components: 30 in number, they are not only usable in any framework, but they also make it possible to automate routine tasks and build custom modules without having to alter the architecture of an application.

Customization: thanks to Symfony's many features and functions, developers can customize the way they create applications.

The MVC architecture: it allows delivering organized web applications, respectful of the company's business strategy. Add to that custom data display models and a system capable of controlling the application's execution flow. Symfony allows developers to separate the business logic from the user presentation into distinct layers, for a better maintainability of the application.

Unit testing of code: unit testing is possible thanks to reusable data packages (bundles), custom design patterns and the absence of strict dependencies. In addition, the PHPUnit standalone library allows for automated unit testing, reducing the routines of web developers.

A complete documentation: rented by developers, Symfony documentation is regularly updated, while being well-structured and easy to understand.

Secured: Powerful and complex, the framework's security component is handed over to developers, who can then use the many tools devoted to flexible authentication and authorization strategies to create applications that are extremely protected.

What are the advantages of Symfony?

Symfony has built its reputation on the following advantages:

·    One of the biggest communities on the market to date;

·    Use by reputable platforms, such as Drupal or Magento ;

·    Its regular updates to meet the needs of web developers as accurately as possible.

Web development is a project that requires a solid professional support. 
Our development agency helps you choose the PHP framework that best suits your needs. 
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