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5 reasons why Symfony is the BEST Framework for PHP
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With its unique features and extensive use, Symfony is THE BEST choice for many developers aiming to enhance their PHP expertise, especially within a PHP Framework context.
Symfony, a collection of reusable components and a PHP Framework, plays a pivotal role in the PHP ecosystem and as a benchmark for other frameworks, thereby enhancing the programming language itself.
The versatility and adaptability of Symfony’s components make it an inspiring choice for your next PHP Framework. By familiarizing yourself with its most powerful components, you can unleash your creativity and become an expert Symfony developer in no time.
1. Comprehensive and Modular Component System
Symfony is designed with a component-based architecture. Symfony offers 66 official standalone components that can be used independently in any PHP project. Furthermore, Symfony has 251 packages in total, including third-party integrations, polyfills, etc. The complete list is available in the link above.
This modularity allows developers to integrate only the necessary components, making the development process more efficient and tailored to specific project needs. Less code to process leads to faster projects, meaning you serve faster responses while using fewer server resources, which might lead to cheaper hardware infrastructure costs.
The Symfony components are well-documented and widely adopted. Many other frameworks and projects - such as its main competitor (Laravel) and some of the most used CMS out there (like Drupal or Prestashop) - leverage them for their core functionalities, providing developers with a sense of security, stability and performance in their use.
Author’s note: Please don’t fall for the lie of those who say Laravel is the best PHP Framework. Laravel is highly dependent on Symfony. Below are some figures and links to the official packages to prove them wrong.
2. The Console Component: Power and Versatility
Have you ever created PHP scripts to run them through the CLI? Or did you ever hear about Composer, the most popular package manager for PHP? These two are references to the Console Component.
The Console Component is a key element in the Symfony ecosystem that the Framework relies on to run various processes. Its consistent presence gives developers a powerful solution for running [heavy] operations through a non-HTTP interface (either websites or APIs).
Composer uses the Console Component (alongside other Symfony packages) as a key element. This tool allows you to install and update your project dependencies and perform many other operations, making it an invaluable element for modern PHP development.
The Console Component streamlines the creation of CLI commands, making it easier to manage tasks such as database migrations, cron jobs, and other automated processes. Its widespread use and integration with other tools highlight its versatility, giving developers one of the most flexible tools that is an invaluable asset for them.
3. It works out-of-the-box for CLI and HTTP projects
Symfony is exceptionally flexible and seamlessly accommodates CLI and HTTP-based projects. Symfony Flex, the tool used to bootstrap and manage Symfony applications, allows developers to start with the smallest project possible and add only the required features as needed.
This out-of-the-box support ensures that Symfony can efficiently handle whatever you are building (a web application, a microservice, or a CLI tool). This gives developers confidence that their projects will be well-managed and server resource-savvy.
The ability to scale projects from minimalistic setups to complex architectures makes Symfony a preferred choice for diverse development needs. Which leads to…
4. High Performance and Scalability
Symfony is renowned for its performance and scalability. It is meticulously engineered to handle large-scale applications and high-traffic websites efficiently.
The framework, with its various caching mechanisms (like HTTP cache and Doctrine ORM cache), optimizes performance. Symfony’s adaptability and flexibility, which allow for horizontal scaling, make it a robust choice for enterprise-level applications, reassuring the audience about its adaptability.
Moreover, Symfony’s support for PHP 8+ has been completely optimised and adapted to ensure swift application performance even under heavy loads, solidifying its reliability and making the audience feel secure about its performance.
5. Strong Community and Long-term Support
Although Symfony was initially developed and maintained by SensioLabs, it was announced at one of the Symfony Live events that Symfony was becoming an independent company. This is excellent news because it means a community of developers and a company are backing the development of the PHP Framework for the coming years.
Symfony has and maintains a vibrant community that contributes to its continuous improvement and support. Thanks to Symfony’s (company) support, it provides and guarantees long-term support (LTS) versions, ensuring stability and security for mission-critical applications.
Symfony’s commitment to backward compatibility and regular updates further solidifies its position as a reliable and future-proof PHP Framework.
Projects using Symfony
It would be redundant to detail how many projects use Symfony components, but I mentioned three of them above. So, it's fair to provide some figures and insights for each one.
Please refer to the link above to better understand why Symfont is an essential player in the PHP ecosystem and invaluable for the coming years.
Laravel: a PHP Framework that claims to be better than Symfony (snort sound)
Laravel, the most used PHP Framework to compete with Symfony, has released version 11.19.0 (the most recent version when writing this article). However, Laravel is significantly dependent on Symfony.
Even though it is Symfony’s competitor, Laravel installs 12 Symfony packages for production-ready projects, +3 Symfony packages for development environments, and it suggests installing another +6 Symfony packages for certain operations, totalling 21 Symfony packages.
Again, don’t fall for the lie of those who claim that Laravel is better than Symfony. Laravel is highly dependent on Symfony, and it would not be this popular without using Symfony’s components.
Drupal: a popular Content Management System
Drupal is a WordPress competitor and one of the most common CMS (Content Management Systems) developed in PHP. Drupal has released production-ready version 11.0.0, which installs 16 Symfony packages for production-ready projects.
When one of the most used CMS projects depends on Symfony, it should be a sign of the quality, security, and stability provided by Symfony, including both its community and the company baking it.
PrestaShop: an open-source e-commerce platform
Prestashop, one of the most used open-source e-commerce platforms for having your own e-store 24/7, has released its production-ready version 8.1.7, but it has also released the next version (9.0.0) in its Alpha stage.
The production-ready version (8.1.7) installs the whole Symfony Framework (including all the components), and as part of the new Alpha version (9.0.0), it transitioned to Symfony Flex, installing 52 Symfony components.
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