10 ‘Must-Know’ Advantages of PHP

As an open source server side scripting language, Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is widely used by web application developers across the globe. Many developers love using the scripting language to develop powerful, dynamic and interactive web applications within a short span of time. The huge popularity of the language can be estimated from its use in developing some of the renowned business and social networking websites. If you are planning to switch to the innovative and powerful language, it is time to understand some of its key advantages.

10 Features that Make PHP Score over Other Scripting Languages

• Easy to Learn and Use: Many novice web application developers find it easier to learn PHP without putting much effort. As the PHP syntax has similarities to the C and Java, the developers, who have prior experience in writing programs in these languages, can easily migrate to the powerful scripting language. At the same time, a developer without having any prior programming experience can also learn the language after knowing HTML. The clear and easy-to-understand nature of the language makes it popular among all types of developers.

• Easy to Embed in HTML: In comparison to conventional scripting languages, PHP can be embedded into HTML in an easier and hassle-free way. Many developers even prefer learning PHP after being familiar with HTML. The easy to embed feature also help developers to use the scripting language to convert the static websites into more dynamic and engaging websites without putting any extra effort.

• Open Source and Cross Platform: PHP is also popular as an open source and cross-platform scripting language. As it is open source, a developer can use the language without paying any fees. Further, a company can hire a developer having experience in writing C and Java program to start working on its PHP project. Also, as a cross-platform scripting language, PHP works perfectly on various operating systems including Windows, Mac, Linux and UNIX.

• Superior Level of Freedom: As PHP is not operating system specific, the developers enjoy a huge amount of freedom to write code using any of the commonly used text editor. Based on your choice, you can write the code using just Notepad, or some other editors Emacs, jEdit, Bluefish and Notebook++. The no restriction on coding allows developers to develop applications at their own pace and convenience.

• Several Frameworks: Each programmer looks for options to build powerful application without writing longer lines of code. The PHP developers can develop robust application within a very short timeframe using a variety of frameworks like Symfony, Slim, Silex, Zend and Aiki. You can choose any PHP framework based on the requirements of your application. Also, each framework allows you to avail a set of benefits including code reuse, better session management, and database access libraries.

• Smooth Integration with Systems: PHP is used widely by programmers to develop a variety of web applications and websites. According to a number of reports, over 30% of the web is powered by this powerful scripting language. There are also several systems like Memcache, Pusher and MongoDB that are integrated seamlessly with PHP. So you can use the language to develop powerful and dynamic web application for clients belonging to different regions and industries.

• Instant Support: Most developers need help, answers, or tips while writing codes. As PHP is open source, a developer has option to avail the assistance of a large community of developers. You can simply initiate a web search to access the online documentation and resources for PHP. At the same time, you also have option to avail specific solutions through online forums, blogs, social media and PDF. The support makes it easier for you to get instant assistance whenever you are stuck.

• High Scalability: Along with being interactive and dynamic, most web applications also need to be scalable. After deploying a website, the organization has to enhance hosting, databases and coding to boost its performance. The flexible and easy to understand feature of PHP, makes it more scalable. You can use the scripting language to add more servers and feature to increase your cluster size.

• Convenient Access to Third-Party Tools: Most web applications try to improve user experience by using popular tools and applications developed by third-party vendors. For instance, some business applications use Google maps to help users in identifying a location. Similarly, most ecommerce websites use a variety of third-party application like shopping cart software and payment processing gateways. You can use PHP to easily access all types of third-party tools in a fast and hassle-free way.

• PHP Hosting Services: An organization can further avail several advantages by hosting a PHP application through PHP hosting. Along with being inexpensive, the PHP hosting service further effective in boosting the efficiency and performance of application developed using the scripting language.

These features help immensely in PHP application development. In addition to these features, PHP also scores over other scripting language due to its user-friendly nature. Also, the PHP community constantly works on projects to keep the language updated and dynamic enough to meet the latest trends in web application development.

If you would like to outsource php development and would like to hire a php programmer for your needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Is CodeIgniter is the Best Solution for a PHP Developer?

Each web application developer has option to choose from a wide variety of software frameworks. But a developer has to evaluate the pros and cons of each framework to decide the most effective and convenient option to develop powerful web applications. In comparison to conventional software frameworks, the PHP framework is much more popular among the application developers and resellers due to its simple and easy-to-use features.

Along with building applications without putting any extra time and effort, you can use the PHP framework features to easily debug, secure and deploy it using multiple platforms. As an efficient an open source web application development framework, CodeIgniter is widely used by developers to make lightweight and dynamic websites using PHP. Unlike other PHP frameworks, CodeIgniter is loosely based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) development pattern. Also, it is hugely popular due to its efficiency and speed in comparison to other frameworks. Needless to say, companies offering PHP development services are one of the most sought after ones for web application development.

What Makes CodeIgniter the Best Solution for Developing PHP Web Applications?

Model-View-Controller Architecture: Most developers prefer using MVC architecture as it can be configured and deployed easily. In addition to reducing the amount of time required for completing a project, the architecture further enables developers to keep the codes separated and clean. Most of the conventional frameworks require you to follow certain guidelines. But you can use CodeIgniter to work in a manner that you think is sensible, logical and suitable for your project.

Easy to Understand and Use: Many developers require additional training to migrate to a new application development framework. But one can learn, understand and use CodeIgniter without putting any extra effort. Also, this framework allows you to easily write new libraries, and modify the existing libraries. At the same time, you can further customize the framework to change its overall behavior. As CodeIgniter works seamlessly with both PHP 4 and PHP 5, you can easily make powerful application by availing the advantages of both environments.

A Set of Comprehensive Tools: CodeIgniter also comes with a number of built-in libraries including email, calendar, form validation, zip encoding, sessions, uploading and unit testing. Also, a developer can quickly write codes using default helpers available for a variety of elements like forms, strings, cookies, arrays, directories, and file handling. At the same time, you also have option to make your own libraries, and use the code developed by other members of the CodeIgniter community. The framework also allows you to upload files to a directory by skipping the required installation process.

In-built Features to Secure Your Web Application: Most application developers struggle to keep their web application secure and inaccessible. Some people even use expensive security tools to protect their website from hackers. When you use CodeIgniter, the framework allows you to choose and implement the amount and type of security needed by the individual applications. Along with automatically escaping SQL queries and unsetting all global variables, the framework also enables you to secure you application encrypting cookies and using a database to handle session data.

Easy to Manage Databases: Similar to other advanced software development frameworks, CodeIgniter also support a database abstraction layer nowadays. You can use the feature to easily create, insert, delete and update statements without writing raw SQL queries. Also, you can use the feature to connect your application to several databases including Oracle, Microsoft SQL, MySQL and SQLite. You also have options to use its database forge library to easily create new tables, remove old tables, and modify existing tables by adding or removing columns.

Comprehensive Documentation: CodeIgniter further scores over other web application development frameworks due to its comprehensive and quality documentation. As the framework is backed by EllisLab, a company passionate about making CodeIgniter the most popular PHP framework, the team invests a huge amount of time and efforts in optimizing the quality of documentation to target all types of users. The documentation also acts an impressive user guide for the developers migrating from other platforms. You can further read the documentation on a regular basis to enhance your knowledge and skills.

Support of Active User Community: Nowadays, most developer want assistance to resolve specific problems. Many programmers even use discussion forums to find solutions for a question or problem. One can always use the forum and wiki provided by CodeIgniter through its website. With over 57,000 registered users, these platforms make it easier for developers to get solutions within a few moments of time. You can simply get answers to your question without using the chat channels or group mailing list.

If you want to hire a PHP developer for your PHP web development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

How to Bake Your CakePHP Development Right?

As an open source web application development framework, CakePHP allows developers to write codes without putting much time and effort. Despite being written in PHP, CakePHP is modeled based on the concept of Ruby on Rails. Also, it supports some of the widely used software design patterns, and software engineering concepts. At the same time, CakePHP also provides a basic structure to the developers to build, deploy and maintain a variety of web applications.

Many developers migrate to CakePHP architecture to build websites in a fresh and innovative way. The architecture, normally, consists of three components, i.e., model, view and controller. You can use Model to interact with various data sources, and use View to manage the web page layout and design of the website. At the same time, the Controller will allows you control the functioning of model and view based on the commands received from end-users.

You can use the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture to build robust and efficient web applications. CakePHP framework also provides a large collection of base classes for your web application development that makes it easier to extend and customize the application. Further, you have option to use the additional classes and objects to reuse the behavior of MVC base classes for various subclasses. So the code can be easily extended and reused by a programmer to develop web application compatible with PHP 4 and PHP 5.

Features that Help in Baking Your CakePHP Development Right

MVC Coding Pattern: The MVC architecture acts as the base of CakePHP framework. The coding pattern further makes it easier for developers to disintegrate the design and presentation of business logic. Each of the three layers controls specific aspect of web application development. You can use Model for database application, View for GUI implementation, and Controller for business logic. Further, each layer can be used independently to make the application development process simpler, faster, and smoother.

Support for Latest PHP Versions: At present, CakePHP fully supports the latest versions of PHP programming language. The support for PHP 4 and PHP 5 can be used to develop the next generation of web applications. Also, you can easily incorporate specific features and functionalities to meet the varying demand and choices of your clients. Some of these options will further help you in improving the user experience for the application.

Use the Fast and Flexible Templates: No one can deny the effectiveness of templates in making web application more comprehensive and efficient. CakePHP is hugely popular among developers due to its large collection of fast and flexible templates. Also, you have option to design custom CakePHP templates to optimize the look and feel of the front end of your web application. You will also find a number of professional CakePHP template developers who offers a variety of customized templates commercially.

Keeping Your Website Secure: CakePHP scores much higher than other frameworks due to its strong security features. You must use its Create, Retrieve, Update, and Delete (CRUD) features to secure the user submission process without putting any extra time and effort. At the same time, the Object Relational Mapping (ORM) framework also makes it easier for developers to streamline SQL queries by presenting tables as base classes. The framework also supports its own shell to incorporate command-line interface.

Additional Features and Functionalities: CakePHP further offers a set of functionalities that makes web application development more convenient and enjoyable. Along with support all database types and database drivers, the framework also allows developers to rich query APIs, shorten URL syntax, and use smarter router prefixes. It also allows you to view helper for JavaScript, XML, AJAX, Forms and Pagination. You can simply use its automated configuration to detect the most preferred setting automatically. So you can easily configure the system without writing lengthy codes.

As CakePHP is licensed under the MIT license, it can be easily used to build commercial web applications. Also, you can use its Clean MVC Conventions get the relevant assistance and guidance in baking your CakePHP application right. PHP development services teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

If you want to hire a PHP developer for your PHP web development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Who is an Ideal PHP Developer?

The frequent changes in the choices and demands of users have made web application development process both complex and complicated. Most companies, nowadays, look for innovative ways to design websites that can attract, impress and captivate the visitors. As a server side scripting language, PHP is hugely popular among developers to provide a distinct look and feel to a variety of websites.

A php development company planning to hire a PHP web developer can easily receive CVs from a large number of jobseekers. But each organization finds it a daunting challenge to find an ideal PHP developer. When you are looking for a professional PHP developer, the applicant is surely expected to be theoretically and practically sound in PHP development. Also, he must understand the key features of different versions of PHP, and be able to differentiate between PHP 4 and PHP 5.

However, most of the websites, nowadays, are being designed using multiple languages. So a professional, who has minimum knowledge on other languages, can easily integrate the codes in PHP. For instance, if the PHP developer knows HTML, CSS and Flash, he can optimize the look and feel of all web applications. At the same time, he must possess some additional qualities that make the PHP developer ideal and more efficient.

5 Important Qualities of an Ideal PHP Web Developer

• Good Understanding of Object Oriented Programming: A developer with good understanding of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) can learn and use other programming languages without putting any extra time and effort. So you must ask certain OOP-related questions to the applicant to test his understanding. For instance, you can ask several questions to the applicant to check his knowledge on important concepts like inheritance, polymorphism, constructors and interfaces. Also, he must be able to clearly differentiate between private, public, protected and static methods and functions.
• Knowledge of Major Databases: A successful web application must be effective in gathering and synchronizing information from several data sources. Also, the choice of databases varies from one organization to another based on the nature and volume of their data. So an ideal PHP developer must have knowledge regarding both SQL and non-SQL databases. Along with a clear understanding of primary and foreign keys, he also needs to know the database design patterns. It is also important for the developer to at least know one commonly used source control system, along with the importance of CVS.
• Must Know Various Aspects of Web Application Testing: Most companies, nowadays, opt for test driven web application design to save time and resources. So you must hire a PHP developer who has a clear understanding of important web application testing concepts and techniques. The professional also need to know what unit testing is, why unit testing is important, how to unit test JavaScript, and how to use Selenium to check the compatibility of the application with major web browsers. You should also determine if he knows appendChild, removeChild, nextSibling, and other methods to manipulate DOM. The additional web application testing knowledge will further contribute towards controlling the overall project cost.
• Interested in Learning Latest Technologies: Despite being a powerful language PHP cannot be used exclusively to build an entire website. Most web application interfaces are designed using HTML and CSS. Similarly, many web pages used client side scripting languages like DOM Programming and JavaScript to reduce the load on web server. Also, most web applications are designed using open source scripts and templates. Often the open source codes are integrated with PHP script to customize the websites. So an ideal PHP developer must know these languages and technologies, in addition to possessing good PHP programming skills.
• Ability to Connect with Other Professionals: Often companies want to impress their customers by offering innovative and distinct features. So the PHP developer has to face constant challenges to boost the look and feel of various web applications. If the develop is good in communication with other developers, he can easily avail their assistance whenever the need arises. The good communication skill will further make it easier for you to handle clients and other stakeholders in the project. Also, the developer will work as part of a team consisting of other developers and project managers. If he can communicate with other professionals smoothly, it will optimize the overall productivity of your web application development team.

We provide php web development services. If you would like to know more about our certified php developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

PHP Zend: Presenting tools for the Mobile and Cloud

For any offshore industry organization, PHP turns out to be the perfect code base for swift application development and deployment. As technologies are becoming more and more mobile, and content becoming available across cloud facilities, it is highly anticipated that PHP will come up with something easy and effective for this platform too. Zend Studio 10, derived from PHP’s Zend framework, has brought in innovative tools that make room for a suitable drag- and-drop ambience within the mobile app industry. Another Zend development tool from the closet of PHP is Zend Server Gateway which serves as an API with respect to cloud facilities revolving around the Representational State Transfer or REST architecture. Before we explore these tools let us have a brief understanding of the beneficial aspects of the Zend framework.

Reasons for Popularity of the Zend Framework

Loosely coupled: The Zend Framework can be utilized in the form of a component library. This implies that one can opt for working with a single component or a group of components existing in the framework. For instance, if you need to make use of the Zend Pdf, then it is possible to do so without making use of other components available within the framework. In fact, decoupling of components is done to the greatest extent possible.

MVC constituents: MVC (Model View Controller) components are also available within the Zend framework. This enables the separation of user interface from business logic. Mapping of HTTP Requests is done to a specific function within the user land controller set. The front controller structure is also implemented.

CLI and web programming: Zend framework can be used to compose CLI scripts. Argument parsing functionality is provided by the Zend_Console_GetOpt constituent.

Documentation: The documentation of Zend Framework is exhaustive. Documentation is available in 6 languages in more than 500 pages. Along with the reference guide, online access to and downloading facility for API documentation is available.

Support: There are a number of support channels available in Zend, the official one being the mailing list, which involves active participation from Zend developers. Moreover, a plethora of unofficial forums are available online.

Value creation by Zend: Zend Server and Zend Studio constitute the platform and IDE products available from Zend. Both of these come with a community version that can be freely utilized and provide integration across Zend framework. Partnering with organizations such as Sitepen, Adobe and Google enable Zend to leverage the components of these partner companies.

Zend for the Mobile and Cloud

The capabilities of the PhoneGap mobile industry are integrated by Zend Studio ten with respect to JQuery, thereby crafting a remarkable drag-and-drop ambience for swifter development of mobile applications. For a company operating within the PHP application domain, PhoneGap is of immense help as it enables UI prototyping for Android, BlackBerry, RIM, iOS mobile and Windows Phone operating systems. Design expedient back-ends are provided ranging from cultural media to business applications.

The Zend Server Gateway offers integration of cloud facilities within the drag-and-drop ambience of Zend Studio ten facilitating convenient validation and authentication. The Zend server upgrade enables automatic deployment of applications within the cloud and ensures the availability of dashboards for monitoring the operation of the application across manifold cloud scenarios of the application. Auditing and compliance features are synchronized within the upgrade facilitating Root Cause Analysis (RCA) without making any changes to the live code. The partnership between Zend and Red Hat has led to the introduction of the PHP engine to aid the OpenShift platform. Other remarkable cloud tools that come via Zend are Zend Application Fabric and phpcloud.com.

The PHP Zend industry is advancing rapidly, bringing in cutting edge technology for PHP based network apps, thereby ensuring the implementation of the most cherished network applications within the stipulated time at economical rates. PHP application development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

If you want to hire a PHP developer for your PHP web development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Increasing Popularity of PHP Development

PHP is a server-side scripting language that is compatible across major operating systems like Linux, Windows and so on. In the current scenario, programmers largely use PHP frameworks in order to deal with performance tuning issues, quickly and conveniently. Incorporating plug-ins and standard templates, PHP offers a robust architecture convenient for source code programming. A large number of frameworks are available to choose from, which can also be customized to suit particular coding needs. The most commonly used frameworks are Zend, Codeigniter, Smarty, Cake PHP and so on. An interesting aspect of PHP is that it offers ease of use for both newcomers and veteran programmers.

Advantages of using PHP frameworks

Query Generalization: Almost every web application is created with databases. Once you decide to incorporate anything dynamic, you need to search for words such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite. Creating queries implies a number of tables, foreign keys, joins, relations and so on. If there is some mistake at any point the application fails to function properly. This is not the case for PHP frameworks, where you just need to call up the function corresponding to a column or table and your work in done.

Code generation: A database is built in order to handle data. SQL INSERT statements are definitely not the most efficient means. PHP frameworks are able to produce the forms once you run the database code generator. The forms can then be used for entering data.

AJAX: Asynchronous JavaScript And XML (AJAX)) is amongst the most preferred functionality so far as web 2.0 sites are concerned. In case you are looking for a completely AJAX powered website, it takes a lot of time to compose the functions, objects and other things. PHP frameworks make this process convenient. To get the desired work done, all you need to do is compose the functions and call them appropriately.

Form Handling: In case you submit wrong information in a form, the database gives an error message and you begin debugging for what has gone wrong. Your problem takes considerable time to get resolved. By using a framework, the probability of errors is greatly reduced because it will check for the correctness of data. If there are some errors, debugging is much more convenient.

State management: Web and Web 2.0 is powered by the HTTP protocol. Many of the new technological executions are aimed at solving the HTTP protocol’s stateless manner. Here ‘state’ indicates a means for the website to recall what the user was doing. For instance, when you are logging in to a site, your ‘state’ should be remembered as ‘logged’. There are in fact a number of states that a web application is required to maintain, Using PHP frameworks, developers are empowered to control the application’s traits along with other aspects, making life much more convenient.

MVC architecture: The Model View Controller (MVC) architecture is used to build a number of websites, wherein the logic (model), behavior (controller) and presentation (view) are segregated. Almost all the PHP frameworks follow similar patterns and facilitate the creation of web applications that are much more in line with the MVC patterns. This makes development an easier process that when the developer tries to compose everything by himself.

Event Driven Programming: This is something which every developer would prefer to do. It revolves around taking actions during the occurrence of particular events. PHP development frameworks facilitate event driven programming in the sense that you are able to take a number of actions on events like button clicks or key presses. The developer is capable of focusing on the program logic instead of spending valuable time pondering about ways to route the request that is generated through the application by the button press.

PHP frameworks offer a comprehensive list of features allowing programmers to do much more easily and quickly. Each specific framework has its distinct functionality to facilitate the developer’s work. PHP development India teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php web development services. If you would like to know more about our expert php developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.