CakePHP is one of several open-source PHP frameworks for developing web applications. CakePHP minimizes the work of building applications from scratch and offers an expedited process. The developers describe it as simple, fast, and a language that requires less code. Its PHP 7 framework offers a flexible database access layer and a scaffolding system for small and complex business systems. Calling itself, “fast” and “solid,” CakePHP boasts of itself as “tastier,” so your applications will attract users and support your business’ growth.
Why Use CakePHP?
With so many open-source PHP frameworks to weigh, consider CakePHP because of convenience, flexibility, and its following unique qualities:
MVC Architecture
CakePHP follows MVC or ‘Model View Controller’ as its software design pattern. The MVC pattern divides your application into three major components. Each component handles different aspects. The ‘Model’ supports all data-related logic your company uses. With the Model class, you can insert, update, delete, or read the data from the database. The second tier, the ‘View,’ supports data rendering on the screen. It handles the user interface (UI) logic related to the application.
The ‘Controller’ processes and reacts to actions and can alter data before it interacts with the ‘Model,’ which is the database. It acts as an interface between Model and View components. The pattern makes it easier to split logic and presentation which comes in handy for large applications and sites.
Convenient Extensions
If you are using CakePHP, you can easily extend your project with components, behaviors, and plug-ins. It allows you to render parts of the code reusable, which becomes useful across multiple projects. By expanding the functionality using these components, behaviors, and plug-ins, you can create a generalized library instead of Cake’s extending core libraries. This library can be shared between different models, controllers, and views and can be used in other projects. CakePHP offers a wide variety of plugins, helpers, and components developed with the well-defined conventions of CakePHP so not every project code must be written from scratch.
Easy configuration
With CakePHP’s easy configuration, you just must manage the database connection settings. Other than that, there isn’t any part of the codes or configuration for which you need to state the location of the library or the specific URL of the website. All these functions are automated in CakePHP, significantly managing the speed and lightening your workload.
Object Relational Mapping
Object-relational mapping is a programming technique to facilitate data conversion between incompatible type systems in databases and object-oriented programming languages. In databases, every table is represented by a class. These classes determine what happens with your data: its validity, interactions, and the evolution of the information workflow in your domain of work. The built-in ORM of CakePHP specializes in relational databases and can be extended further to support substitute data sources. CakePHP aims to create a hybrid implementation for a fast and easy-to-use ORM.
CRUD Scaffolding
CRUD is taken from the main activities involved in most web applications: Create, Read, Update, and Delete. It’s useful as it gives you a preliminary view of your application in just a single line of code. The CakePHP core library has now changed /console/cake which makes it very easy to modify things as per the specific requirements of your application. Though a common feature, CakePHP code renders it while saving time.
Compatibility with different versions of PHP
Despite some developers’ claims, CakePHP can be used in PhP4 and PhP5. Portability hence providing another reason to go for it.
Testing Features
Critical for large applications, CakePHP testing features allow your developers to create tests to check your application and any component criticality attached to it. There are two types of tests: core and custom. Both can be built easily. When you want to ensure that critical elements perform reliably, or performance needs regular checks. CakePHP supports testing features.
Conclusion
One of the most popular frameworks for PHP development, CakePHP reduces the development costs considerably. With it, you can rapidly build applications using code generation and other scaffolding features. You don’t need complicated configuration, just set up your database and start up! Moreover, most of the required features built into the framework include translations, database access, caching, validation, authentication, and others. If you need more motivation to use CakePHP, you should know that it works from any website directory and comes along with an active and effective community as well. To know more about what CakePHP can do for you, check out the CakePHP development services we offer.
