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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.