PHP anyway is a popular choice of web developers to create unique, modern websites/applications. To develop customized designs, PHP frameworks are the preferred choice of many. With its increasing demand and exceptional results, lately, myriad PHP frameworks came into existence. However, there are a few that have amazing features and functions to design impeccable designs.
Among plethora of options, there are two well-known PHP frameworks available, Laravel and CodeIgniter. Both frameworks have the capability to speed up the web development process. But at the same time, they have profound differences.
This article has a side-by-side comparison of Laravel and CodeIgniter. So, if you are confused, about which one to choose for web development, read the differences and other details given in the article.
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Laravel and CodeIgniter frameworks in brief!
Laravel is an open-source PHP framework, that follows MVC (model-view-controller) architecture. Its source code is hosted on GitHub and is a trustworthy framework with routing, authentication, caching, and session features that make Laravel web development quick and efficient.
Laravel has an integrated packaging system with a dedicated dependency manager to maintain and deploy applications and their orientation towards syntactic sugar.
On the other hand, CodeIgniter is one of the best PHP frameworks for building dynamic websites. This framework has a complete library for its users. Moreover, CodeIgniter is amiable with third-party plugins that are used to enhance complex functionalities.
Its data encryption procedure and security are other features in its cap. CodeIgniter is premediated for developers who need simple toolkits to build full-featured web applications.
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CodeIgniter vs Laravel – Major differences!
According to Dr. Chris Dayagdag, “We don’t just build websites, we build websites that sell.”
And to build such goal-oriented websites, you need to choose a felicitous framework with incredible features that ease out the web development process.
Laravel | CodeIgniter | |
|---|---|---|
Features |
|
|
ORM | Helps developers with eloquent object-relational mapping ORM | Does not facilitate ORM |
Modular functionality | It is fabricated with in-built modular functionality. | Developers utilize modular extension to form and uphold the modules. |
Framework type | Laravel is a full-stack framework. | Minimalistic framework |
Support for DBMS | Microsoft SQL server
|
And integration support for,
|
Construction and Updates | MVC architecture and command line tool known as Artisan for web development. | Its structure follows the MVC pattern. The pattern is roughly based on object-oriented programming and developers use the pattern as per their needs. |
RESTful API | Laravel developers can produce a collection of REST API in less time and effort with the help of RESTful controller method. | CodeIgniter does not simplify streamlined development of REST APIs. |
Popularity | Laravel is a very popular framework due to its communicative coding pattern. | CodeIgniter is popular but not as much as Laravel. Developers prefer its ease of usage. |
Programming paradigm | Component oriented | Object-oriented event driven functional |
HTTP Support | Describing custom HTTP routes is possible in Laravel. For each HTTP route, developers can form a precise URL. | CodeIgniter does not support HTTP fully. |
Learning Curve | Easy-to-learn | It is easy to learn. |
Unit testing | Laravel application’s code can be checked uninterruptedly with the help of PHP Unit. | It does not have in-built unit testing tool. |
Market Statistics – Important numbers to know!
Laravel's overall market share is around 7.58% according to Statista and is the 14th most loved web framework.
It has got 68k Github stars.
Its 1.83% (approx.) of total live websites belong to the one million topmost websites in the world.
Whereas CodeIgniter has 1.72% overall market share.
It has gained 18.2k stars and 7.8k forks on Github.
These numbers show the popularity and usage trends of Laravel and CodeIgniter.
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Which framework to choose: Laravel or CodeIgniter?
Laravel and CodeIgniter both are outstanding frameworks that produce vogue results. Thus, choosing any one between these two eminent PHP frameworks can be overwhelming bit tricky. You can consider Laravel vs CodeIgniter performance while selecting a PHP framework for web development.
There can be two situations -
You choose Laravel if you have to work on a colossal, complex project because Laravel has features and functionalities to build a complex website. Also, if you need a perfect data-driven web application with huge datasets management. Or if you are looking for a full-stack PHP framework for the entire web development lifecycle.
Laravel supports robust web development in less time. Other than the time benefit, some of the other advantages of using Laravel are its exceptional traffic handling capabilities, advanced security protocols, seamless third-party integrations, etc.
You choose CodeIgniter if you have to build a simple project. If your project doesn’t need in-built testing or database management capabilities. Or if you need a minimalistic framework to develop a scalable website.
CodeIgniter has made web development faster than Laravel. Moreover, it offers benefits like incredible error handling, hassle-free migration, the ability to generate SEO-friendly URLs, and many more.
So, now you know how to choose any one out of these two PHP frameworks for your upcoming project.
Wrapping up
Understanding the CodeIgniter Vs Laravel Difference helps businesses choose the right PHP framework based on project complexity, scalability, performance, security, and long-term maintenance requirements. While both frameworks are reliable for web application development, selecting the right one depends on your business goals, technical requirements, development timeline, and future growth plans.
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