An insight into PHPStorm

PHPStorm- An intelligent IDE for PHP web developers: PHPStorm is like a blessing for PHP developer. It is an outstanding IDE or editor for PHP web developers. It is developed by Jetbrains and has a received a tremendous popularity from the IT industry in a very less span of time due to its magical features. It not only supports PHP codes but also other web scripts like javascript, JQuery, HTML and CSS etc. It helps in reducing the effort and time of a web developer to a large extent with its intelligent properties. When we say it’s intelligent, that means it is smarter than other IDEs like komodo or notepad plus etc.

Why IDE? IDE stands for integrated development environment. This is like an editor that capable to be integrated with a framework for better productivity. It provides numerous types of assistance to a PHP developer during the development process which helps in avoiding silly mistakes and hence bugs in the application. On the other hand it also reduces the effort of the tester to a large extent due to minor bug free application. Hence it is like a integral part of the development process for any web application development project.

Code assist: The basic nature of PHPStorm is to provide code assistance to the programmer during programming. It helps in different programming supports like code auto complete, code suggestion and highlighting different components of the web application. It also helps in maintaining proper indentation in the programme that can help the application to be well readable and maintainable for future. Moreover it can also suggest for different method name, variable name or even library name during the development process which definitely helps the developer in avoiding common spelling mistakes in the application. Different web components like HTML tags, CSS tags etc are highlighted on PHPStorm platform that helps the developer in avoiding unnecessary silly mistakes.

PHPDoc support: PHPDoc is well supported by PHPStorm. As a result it helps in developing enterprise standard web applications with global rules adopted by the developer. It gives the application a new standard that will definitely help the application to be debugged in future. Well we can make few customisations in this option for our requirements and needs.

Debugging can be hassle free: With PHPStorm IDE a PHP developer can debug the application in a more professional and efficient manner. He can take the help of other debugging tools like xdebug for quality debugging in less time and with more accuracy. In other words we can say the debugging process can be easier through PHPStorm.

Productivity increases: PHPStorm helps PHP web developers in writing industry standard professional codes on the platform. Moreover these codes are not only well readable but also highly maintainable and flexible in nature. Hence it reduces the overall maintenance cost of the application in a long run scenario. Due to its intelligent features as discussed above it reduces not only the time and effort of the developer and tester but also the overall cost of production of the project making it quite productive than before.

Mindfire Solutions provides expert PHP development services from India, gaining its expertise from years of experience in PHP web development and PHP application development. We also have dedicated teams of various important PHP Frameworks like Zend Developers Team, Kohana Developers Team and CodeIgniter developers Team. If you want to Outsource PHP Development or hire PHP Developers, you are at the right place. Please write to us at sales at MindfireSolutions dot com and we will be sending a free quotation in one business day.

PHP and its elegant features that controls web development

PHP on its way to success: At a time when the industry was dominated by Java and .Net, PHP had come up to challenge them on the battle. In early stage of its life cycle PHP was not a huge success, but with time, it received tremendous acceptance value in the industry. This is possible due to the continuous learning attitude of PHP. PHP has been undergoing several changes over time to suite the demand of the PHP developer and industry and hence it come out as a gem in the industry. Moreover, at a period when the industry was carving for a better web language, PHP turned out as a boon for the web developers; because web development process through JSP or ASP was damn tedious at that time where as PHP made it easy with its simple approach and write less do more concepts. This brought an overnight popularity of PHP developers in the industry.

PHP is a true web domain specific language: PHP can only be used for web application development; it can’t be used to develop desktop application like Java or .Net. So at a time when the industry was dominated by web applications, PHP turned out as a leader of web domain specific language. PHP developer can develop any type of websites on the fly. It can be used for agile web development process to develop enterprise standard web applications for the industry. PHP developers can develop any size of application efficiently in less time and more productivity.

It has an awesome feature i.e. Functions with Arbitrary Number of Arguments: Well, PHP has an awesome feature i.e. we can dynamically set the number of arguments for any function. Let me explain how it can be helpful. Suppose, in our web application, there is a function that needs the user to enter the arguments as per his choice; at that time, the application developer is unaware of the number of arguments that can be sent to the program. So, to handle this issue, we can use the above concept to develop our web application.

PHP is future ready: Yes! PHP is future ready; because it has all the future amenities under the hood. Technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery etc. These technologies can be used to write responsive web applications for different screen size, resolution and platforms so that the user can get similar user experience in all screen sizes. To add this, Cloud technology can be integrated by a PHP developer in the web application. With the integration of Cloud technology, PHP developers can give the users an awesome and hassle free experience without any worry for the memory storage size.

It is Open source along with its best friend MySQL: MySQL is treated as the best friend of PHP. It helps the PHP web developer in developing dynamic and data driven web applications on the fly. The best part is it is open source just like PHP. Hence we can expect an exceptional quality of software from the PHP MySQL combo. Moreover you can kick start your first web application using PHP MySQL from the first day itself without any investment.

You can get in touch with a PHP web development company India who can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide PHP web development services. If you would like to hire PHP programmers for your web development needs, please contact us Mindfire Solutions.

Why MySQL with PHP is Comfortable for Development?

As a powerful server-side scripting language, PHP is used widely for creating a variety of rich internet applications. Likewise, MySQL is one of the most popular relational database management systems (RDBMS). Each of the open source technologies can be used independently for web application development. But web developers prefer combining PHP and MySQL to create applications that can beat the frequently changing trends in web development. Both technologies can be further used as part of LAMP stack to rapidly create stable, reliable and high-performing internet applications. If you are exploring server-side scripting languages and RDBMS for your web development project, it is a good idea to understand the benefits of putting PHP and MySQL together.

Why Developers Prefer Putting PHP and MySQL Together?

Make the Application Compatible with Major Platforms

Along with being fast and flexible, PHP can be deployed on major web servers and operating systems. Also, it can be easily integrated with other popular web technologies including Java. The programmers can further avoid writing additional and repetitive code by reusing the software components. So the dynamic server side scripting language along with MySQL makes it easier for developers to create cross-platform applications.

Implement Functionality Changes

Nowadays, each business wants its application to deliver richer and more personalized user experience. So the features and functionality of an application often changes during the lifetime of the project. The developers, therefore, look for technologies that allow them to implement changes during various stages of the project. As PHP allows programmers to implement changes during various stages of the project, it along with MySQL helps programmers in creating applications that deliver richer user experience.

Create Dynamic Web Pages Rapidly

Many developers combine PHP and MySQL to create dynamic web pages that can interact with visitors in a more personalized way. The developers can use HTML to make web pages more useful and well-formatted. As PHP code can be mixed with HTML code seamlessly, they can use the combination to create web pages that collect a wide variety of data from the visitors. Further, they can keep the visitors engaged by creating customized content on the fly. So PHP and MySQL can be used along with WYSIWYG editors to create dynamic web pages without putting any extra time and effort.

Reap Benefits of LAMP Stack

Within a shorter span of time, the LAMP stack has emerged as a powerful and popular platform for rich internet application development. Along with PHP and MySQL, LAMP stack also includes components like Linux and Apache. Linux is an open source operating system, whereas as a web server Apache helps the application reach maximum users. Along with helping programmers in curtailing development time, LAMP stack further helps them in stable, reliable and efficient applications. So the developers can use LAMP stack to deliver highly efficient application through a well-defined development process.

Simplify Development and Deployment of Rich Internet Applications

The LAMP stack makes programming a breeze. It ensures that the coding is relatively bug-free. So the programmers are not required to invest additional time to identify and fix the errors and flaws in the software application. The feature drastically reduces the overall coding time and efforts. At the same time, the LAMP stack further makes it easier for developers to deploy the web application without any hassle. Often developers have to put additional time to integrate the programming language with the server and the database. As PHP is a designed as a standard Apache module, it can be easily integrated with MySQL and the web server.

Both PHP and MySQL are free software. So the technologies can be used by developers without incurring any additional cost. Many developers put the open source technologies together to curtail the overall development cost. The curtailed development cost also makes it easier for enterprises to beat competition.

You can get in touch with a custom PHP development company who can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide PHP website development services. If you would like to hire PHP programmers for your web development needs, please contact us Mindfire Solutions.

Enterprise Level Web Development – Why PHP6 for It?

As a hugely popular server side scripting language, PHP needs no introduction. Along with being fast, scalable, flexible, open source and easy to learn, PHP also supports both procedural and object oriented programming. The developers also have options to use the rich set of inbuilt functions and avail the support of active community to avoid writing additional code. PHP is also widely for developing enterprise software applications that provide a wide range of services.

But the server side scripting language was earlier criticized due to lack of native Unicode support at the core language level. PHP6 is designed with true support for Unicode (UTF-8). It further allows developers to disable the Unicode support on the basis of individual software. At the same time, PHP6 also comes with a several new features and enhanced capabilities to complement the needs of enterprise level web designing.

PHP6 Features that Effectuates Enterprise Level Web Development

Unicode Support: As noted earlier, version 6.0 of PHP is designed with full support for Unicode (UTF-8). So the programmers now have option to use Unicode with larger (64 bit integers). At the same time, they also have option to enable or disable the option based on individual supports. The feature further make the PHP6 overcome the limitation of earlier versions.

Namespace: Many programmers use namespace to avoid collision of functions and classes with same name. They can use namespace to keep the names of the classes and methods readable by without using prefixes in naming conventions. PHP6 allows programmers to keep their code readable, while allowing the same class name or method name to be used by others without creating any problem. The feature will facilitate the development of enterprise applications in a distributed environment.

Caching Improvements: PHP6 also come with several caching improvements. Its caching features are improved at the application as well as the page (opcode) level. Also, the Alternative PHP Cache (APC) is moved to the core language level.

Revamped MySQL Driver: The version 6.0 of PHP development also includes a completely revamped MySQL database driver written in the Zend engine. Now the MySQL driver works with ext/mysql, ext/mysqli and PDO/mysql. The revamped database driver facilitates lower memory usage and faster execution, while supporting client side cache and performance statistics.

Syntax Changes: PHP6 comes with a number of changes in syntax. The syntax changes are made with the objective to make the coding simple and readable. Like “goto”, the programmers now have option to jump to a particular labeled point down the execution path. Likewise, the [] operator for strings and arrays now support the substr() or array_slice() functionality respectively.

Web 2.0 Features: PHP6 further makes it easier for developers to optimize the functionality and performance of the enterprise web application by incorporating web 2.0 features. As the enterprise applications are designed according to specific needs of an organization, their features and functionality vary. Most enterprise applications are designed as customized business-oriented tools to deliver specific services. The web 2.0 features make it easier for programmers to create complex and custom enterprise apps within a shorter span of time.

Updated Tools to Edit PHP Coding: Since the release of PHP 6.0, many IDEs and development tools are being upgraded to support the new release. Now the programmers have option to use upgraded version of Zend Studio, Eclipse PDT and similar IDEs with PHP support. The upgraded tools make simplify both code writing and editing process. The programmers can use the updated tools to complete PHP6 coding without putting any extra effort and time.

While using PHP6 for enterprise level web application development, the programmers have option to use several frameworks. They can use frameworks for developing and testing PHP enterprise applications without putting any extra time and effort. At the same time, the improved capabilities of PHP6 make it easier for programmers to create complex enterprise level websites and internet applications.

If you would like to hire php developers from php development company India who can help you build web apps within allocated budgets and time schedules, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Compare, Ponder and Choose- The Right PHP Framework

With more and more local businesses going online, web application developers often find it a daunting challenge to impress clients. Along with optimizing the performance, scalability and aesthetics of the website, it has also become essential for a programmer to complete the project at a rapid pace. Therefore, most developers use PHP frameworks to build a powerful web application at a rapid pace without writing lengthy code. The frameworks further allow programmers to reuse code for projects of similar nature. A programmer also has option to pick from a wide variety of PHP frameworks. So each developer must know some of the widely used PHP frameworks to choose the right option according to the specific needs of his project.

5 of the Widely Used PHP Frameworks for Web Development

Symfony: As a full-stack framework, Symfony is popular among beginners due to its simple and easy-to-use nature. The novice web developers also have options to access a wide range of books and tutorials to resolve problems. The latest version of the framework comes with a comprehensive library of classes written in PHP 5, components, tools, test suites and template engines, along with architecture to build complex websites at a rapid pace. The programmers can further use the command line generators to start new projects quickly, while availing the advantages like automatic code generation. But a user has to put some amount of time and effort to understand Symfony, as it is different from other PHP frameworks.

Zend: As an open source framework, Zend allows programmers to build a variety of web application and web services using the new features of PHP 5.3+ like namespaces, lambda functions, late static binding and closures. It is also popular due to its own IDE and web browser support. Zend is also widely used by programmers across the globe due to its effectiveness in form creation and data filteration. With more than 15 million downloads, Zend framework has become synonymous with PHP web application development. However, the innovative and advances features make Zend complex. So the beginners often find it difficult to start using the PHP development framework. But the framework is the best bet for programmers who are familiar with the software.

Yii: Within a very short span of time, Yii has joined the league of the best and widely used PHP frameworks till date. It also targets most of the small problems that other frameworks ignore. Along with being future-friendly and highly functional, the framework further allows developers to solve new problems arising during the coding phase. It also saves the time of programmers by simplifying some of the repetitive tasks like creating, reading, updating and deleting the code. A programmer can automatically generates the base code, and saves developers from writing longer lines of code. However, the beginners do not have options to access books and tutorials related to Yii as the framework is comparatively new.

Codeignitor : The easy-to-use to features of the PHP development framework has made it popular among both experienced developers and beginners. It also provides a comprehensive architecture and a simple yet elegant toolkit to rapidly build robust web applications. As Codeignitor is designed with an MVC folder, it makes easier to separate business logic from presentation without putting any extra effort. At the same time, the lightweight software further enables developers to optimize user experience by integrating third-party applications. A developer also has option to access good documentation, and avail the assistance of a large community to solve problems immediately. However, the Codeignitor allows freeway coding that is prone to various types of errors.

CakePHP : CakePHP is widely used by web programmers to build, deploy and maintain a variety of complex web applications at a rapid pace. The framework further allows programmers to avail several advantages by writing PHP4 compatible code. A programmer can avail several advantages by using this PHP development framework including high performance, large-scale monolithic libraries, standard hosting compatibility, minimal configuration, and clear documentation. The beginners can further avail support by accessing tutorials, message boards and groups. But CakePHP is designed with a set of strict conventions that affects its flexibility.

A web application developer has option to pick from a large number of PHP frameworks. Each framework is further designed with a set of features and functionality to enable programmers to build websites at rapid pace. But a programmer must understand the pros and cons of each PHP framework before choosing the right option. It is also important to pick a PHP framework by keeping in mind specific needs of the web development project. While thinking to outsource php development projects, clients are looking at developers who have solid expertise in specific framework and not just generic PHP.

We provide php web development services. If you would like to hire php developer from our 100% certified team of PHP developers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.

Lamp Development for Developing Dynamic Websites

Many developers look for innovative open source software to develop dynamic websites at rapid pace. Often developers have to adjust their code to make the internet application compatible with most operating systems, web servers, databases and browsers. But some free and open source software like LAMP enables web developers to avail advantages of several platforms. In fact, the term LAMP is an acronym that represents the first letters of Linux, Apache web server, MySQL, and PHP, Python or Perl.

However, the combination of the software included in a LAMP package may vary based on the web scripting software. The huge popularity of LAMP has further encouraged many companies by launching customized packages with different combination of web server, database, software language and operating system. For instance, the developers using Microsoft Windows platform can use the WAMP package that runs seamlessly on IIS. So a company can easily customize the open source product to meet specific requirements of its project.

What Makes LAMP the Best Choice for Dynamic Web Development?

Innovative Development Tools
Most developers look for customized tools to avoid longer lines of code. The use of tools also contributes towards shortening the project timeframe. As a LAMP package includes Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL, each developer has options to choose from a wide variety of tools to complement the needs of the internet application. Along with providing a huge amount of flexibility and freedom to users to implement their ideas, the tools also make it easier for them to optimize the look, feel and performance of the website without putting any extra time and effort.

Options to Build Platform-Independent Web Applications
The constant changes in the choices of modern users have made it essential for programmers to explore creative options to make the internet application dynamic. To become hugely popular, each application needs to be compatible with major operating systems, web servers and databases. Also, the choice of scripting language is also selected according to the nature of the application. So each programmer has to write and edit the code to optimize the performance and scalability of the website. With LAMP, a developer can easily develop web application that can avail the benefits provided by some of the widely used databases, web servers and programming languages. So the web application becomes effective in targeting users across the world.

Easy to Write Bug-Free Code
To become popular, a web application also needs to be bug-free. While writing the code, many programmers explore options to make it bug-free. The LAMP stack makes it easier for developers to write bug-free code. The option is more important for the enterprises that are yet to adopt the agile testing methodology. The stack will ensure that the code remains bug-free, and the programmer is not required to spend time in identifying and fixing bugs. The early identification and fixing of bugs also help the enterprise in launching the website as per the predetermined schedule.

Easy to Deploy the Web Application
Along with developing a bug-free web application, the programmers also need to deploy it in an exact manner. Many programmers find it more challenging to deploy a website. They also find it a daunting challenge to the programming language seamlessly with the database and web server. But the LAMP package does not require programmers to put any extra time and effort for integrating the programming language, web server and database. As PHP is used by the product as a standard Apache module, the developers can deploy the LAMP web application in a hassle-free way.

Build Applications Locally
Many companies prefer developing websites locally. They want to develop and test the web application locally, before deploying it onto the web. The features and tools provided by LAMP allow enterprises to build the website locally. Also, the performance of the application can be evaluated and optimized before deploying it online. The local development feature also saves resources, and contributes towards keeping the project cost under control.

As LAMP is an open source product and can be customized easily, it can complement the requirements and budget of all types of enterprises. Without investing a huge amount of money, an enterprise can use the product impress clients by building dynamic websites and web applications at a rapid pace. You can hire developers from top php application development companies in India who can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php development services. If you would like to discuss with a certified php developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

15+ PHP Best Practices That You Must Follow

The world of web development is becoming interesting and challenging with advanced technologies. With each passing day hundreds of web applications are being created and in this maddening race, a website needs to have a higher usability and more attractive UI and robust backend to stand out from the crowd. This is where a web programming language like PHP comes to your aid. Defined as a Hypertext Preprocessor, PHP is a dynamic language which explains the popularity that it enjoys among the developer’s community around the world.

It is a server side scripting language which when combined with HTML and CSS forms a lethal combination delivering best robust websites. This server side characteristic allows you to easily design and develop dynamic webpages using PHP. Different genre of websites such as chatting platforms, ecommerce stores and CRM solutions can be developed using PHP. It is also used in all major social networking sites such as Facebook and Wikipedia. Even WordPress and Drupal have the PHP touch and are very much used worldwide for making customized websites. No wonder PHP web development is a promising sector and hundreds and thousands of talented programmers are working with this technology across the globe.

A good programmer should follow the coding standards for programming in any technology. It is a vital factor for achieving a high code quality. A common customized style, naming conventions and other technical settings allow producing a homogeneous code which is easy to read and maintain. Equally important is the style in which certain problems are solved during programming – It shows the workmanship and experience of the individual developer which shines through and ultimately makes the difference between a technically ‘okay’ code and a well systematic, ‘mature’ code.

Best Practices Followed in PHP

• Befriend the PHP Manual : For aspirants in web development, the PHP manual is the best friend. Because it is thorough and gives helpful comments following each step to be followed in web development. Before figuring out errors or steps one should read the manual and save time for easy and quick solutions.

• Turn on Error Reporting : Error reporting in PHP is of great advantage. One can figure out the bugs in code earlier than before and can be aware of the working of an application. There are different levels of strictness in the reporting that one can use and E_ALL command shows the most errors, be it critical and warnings alike. It is a feast to a programmer or a tester to detect errors and fix them.

• Try an IDE : Integrated Development Environments are useful tools for any developer. They can help in many ways such as syntax highlighting, code completion, error warnings, refactoring (reworking) and many other ways. There are plenty of great IDEs out there that support PHP.

• Try a PHP Framework : PHP Frameworks like CakePHP or CodeIgniter render PHP applications quickly, even if the developer is not an expert in PHP. It is a great way of increasing programming efficiency. The web world is full of several PHP frameworks which can be used as per the needs of the project. Hence PHP programmers have to decide which framework would suit and meet their best business requirement by evaluating the various unique features of the frameworks.

• Learn the DRY Approach : DRY approach is nothing but Don’t Repeat Yourself and it’s a valuable programming concept which deals with not to write redundant code.

• Indent Code and Use White Space for Readability : A developer needs to write a good readable code with proper indenting and makes use of white space. It ensures that a code is neatly organized and easy to search so that it can be referred to in future in case of change requests come up. IDEs and advanced text editors help in adding indentation automatically. Programmers use shortcuts unknowingly when declaring in PHP – For example, let’s take a look at the code snippet below.

<?

echo”Hello world”;

?>

<?=”Hello world”;?>

<% echo”Hello world”; %>

All of the above methods are depreciated and unofficial. Sticking with the standard <?php ?> as it will be guaranteed to be supported in all future versions. This simple malpractice can cause conflicts with XML parsers and can also make code incompatible with future versions of PHP.

• Use Meaningful, Consistent Naming Conventions : Naming conventions are very important in case of good programming practice. Help others by using names that make sense for classes and functions. One can easily understand what the code is about or for which database table the data is fetched; easy for the programmers who can deal with the code in future for maintenance and updates.

• Comment, Comment, Comment : A good programmer always gives comment for each line of code he or she writes. As they understand the importance of comments in the long run. White space and indentations have been used to separate the code; one also wants to use inline comments to annotate code. It is very useful to go back and find something in the code, or if what a certain function did. It’s very useful for every developer who needs to look over the code. Not sure how the code instead of keeping a comment on the code one must write the code formatting standards expressive with a good, because one can get confused with the semantic coding standards both in web design and PHP development.

• Install MAMP/WAMP : MySQL is the most popular type of database to use with PHP. If you want to set up a local environment to develop and test your PHP applications on your computer, look into installing MAMP (Mac) or WAMP (Windows). Installing MySQL on computer can be a tedious process and can be installed in a clean and simple way.

• Upgrade to the Latest Version of PHP: One should be aware of the advantages and new versions of PHP. There are lots of performance increases between PHP 4 and PHP 5. Check a server to make sure one is up to date with the new version and an application is compatible with the upgrades.

• Reduce the Number of Database Queries: A good developer knows very well that database queries take lot of time to load the applications. With the lesser number of database queries executed the better a PHP code can perform. There are many tools such as Process Explorer (Windows) and Stace (Unix) that allow redundant processes.

• Know the Difference Between Single and Double Quotes : It is more efficient to use single quotes in strings as the parser doesn’t have to sift through the code to look for escaped characters and other things that double quotes allow. It is always better to use single quotes whenever possible.

• Give Scripts Limits: Putting a time limit on PHP scripts is a very critical thing. It is a time when scripts fail and to avoid that the set_time_limit function is used for database connection timeouts and infinite loops. The set_time_limit puts a time limit on the maximum number of seconds a script will run. After that time it throws a fatal error.

• Don’t Put phpinfo() in your Webroot: Phpinfo (http://us2.php.net/phpinfo)is a beautiful thing. By simply creating a PHP file that has

< ? php phpinfo(); ? >

And dropping it onto the server somewhere could be dangerous; one can instantly get to know all information about the server. It is not good to drop a file containing phpinfo() in the webroot of the server. This is a really insecure practice and could potentially spell doom for server. Make sure phpinfo() is in a secure spot and could be removed after use.

• Never, Ever Trust your Users : If an application has places for user input, one should always be prepared that they’re going to try to input naughty code. A great way to keep any website hacker-free is to always initialize variables to safeguard a website from XSS attacks (http://ha.ckers.org/xss.html). Therefore PHP.net has an example of a properly secured form-http://talks.php.net/show/php-best-practices/19

• Store Passwords with Encryption: Good way of saving passwords in encrypted format in the database. Many programming newcommers often plunk sensitive data like passwords into the database without applying any encryption which is a faulty approach. They have to use MD5 (http://us3.php.net/md5) to encrypt passwords into the database, which is a good protective way to keep data secure.

Code is the foundation of any website and a framework catalyzes how to write beautiful code with aesthetics. Websites having bad coding style can lead to a mess in the near future. Good code is the first start to any search engine optimization and it is very important for a website template builders or new beginners who build one of their first sites. It’s too big of an investment for things to get screwed up, coded poorly or any number of possibilities. Since good coding is the foundation of any website with a strong web presence, establishing a secure and a classy website with clean, flawless code which goes much further than one thinks.

We provide PHP development services at Mindfire Solutions. If you would like to speak to one of our PHP programmers or you would like to hire PHP developers from us, please do reach out to us. We will be glad to assist.

Why is PHP web development getting valuable?

PHP is indeed the most frequently visited technology in the web for web apps development. It rules the other scripting languages for website development, a leader in the web world. As technology is seeping to every area of our lives the need for recognition for every business is getting important, people are aware that internet can reach out to the large audience from all around the world.

PHP has emerged as one of the most useful and yet completely free web programming platforms, along with Linux and MySQL. It is actually host side scripting dialects with regards to producing websites. Various PHP web programming solutions include CRM solutions, eCommerce solutions, shopping carts with content management system, chat software as well as conversation forum. Nowadays Php along with MySQL database will be accustomed to develop some of the most potent online sources and it is powering some of the great web applications.

PHP has had many stable releases since its arrival, and getting better with every release. PHP has many great features,d functions and frameworks that helps every developer create powerful dynamic websites according to any business demand. PHP developed websites and web applications have much simpler code to write or understand. Its a versatile and well-established language with more new versions that are under wraps. It can be customized according to online web development needs and is a flexible enough so that one can develop greater websites that is compatible with any browser.

Certain benefits of PHP Web Development can be enlisted as follows.

• It supports major databases such as MySQL, Oracle, Sybase, etc.

• It supports major platforms like Unix, Windows, Linux and more.

• IIS, Apache servers can work with PHP which proves to be the versatile scripting language.

• It meet one’s custom requirement of solutions like e-shopping carts like CMS, CRM, web calendars, etc.

• The easy functions, methods and the syntax of this language help PHP Web Developers deploy the solution in less time.

• It can be customized with new technology seamlessly in future if required.

• It decreases the loading time as its source code need not be compiled every time it loads.

A PHP framework has the best practice oriented approach which help one build complex rich internet applications quickly, saving a lot of time reusing code snippets that are already available. There are so many useful PHP frameworks available on the web. Depending on requirements and need, one can select from a wide range of web development frameworks offered in the web market. Most interesting part is they are freely available and got a huge community driven forum where stuck developers can get their solutions quickly and build their website up and running in no time.

Top PHP(Rapid Application Development) frameworks are:

• CakePHP is an opensource rapid development PHP framework that provides an MVC architecture for developing, maintaining and deploying customized applications. It comes in with great tools for form tampering protection, XSS prevention and SQL injection prevention which helps in building secure websites. The MVC conventions guide in properly to build in richer web applications and blogs. Developers and users find it more interesting because of flexible code generation, free licensing, user-friendly community, compatible with all the latest versions of PHP, cookie, security, data sanitization, email, session and request handling components,works from any website directory, with little to no Apache configuration involved etc.

• Laravel has a well fabricated toolbox which allows to write less code, with less risk of error. And using this framework developers can build websites with greater value and productivity, such as managing guiding principles, side effects, etc. A structured approach is followed using this framework, using best practices and standards where complex websites can be efficiently deployed. It is well said that Laravel is for web artisans and creative craftsman where wonderful applications can be built with less code and expressive syntax which gets easier for programmers who build complex apps with cleaner and understandable code.

• Symfony is a full-stack framework comprising a library of cohesive classes written in PHP5. It provides a classy architecture, components and tools for programmers to build rich complex web applications quicker. Choosing symfony allows to release applications quicker, host and scale them without any problem and can be maintained over time. It was originally conceived by the interactive agency Sensio Labs for the development of customized websites for its esteemed clients from various sectors. Symfony was published by the agency in 2005 under MIT Open Source license and today it is among the leading frameworks available for PHP web development.

• Zend Framework is based on simplicity, object-oriented best practices, user-friendly corporate licensing and agile codebase which is regularly tested. This framework is focused on making simple, reliable secure and new web 2.0 applications & web services and consuming widely available APIs from leading vendors such as Flickr, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, as well as API providers.

The above popular PHP frameworks are unique in nature and can very well suit to any business need. They play a vital role in making websites richer and attractive adding value compared to other counter websites.

Everyone wants a website that looks appealing, attractive, customized and very much interactive with users and all this is possible with PHP allows one to customize their websites keeping everything simple and yet classy. PHP possesses all the main points of a successful programming language. PHP Website Development has maintained vast developer group of people around the world and lots of PHP professionals regularly enhance this. The web application developed in PHP costs less and affordable for website owners who can save a lot of money though it is having a multi-featured web application.

It has literally revolutionized the web development industry with a dynamic brand fresh structure.

There are many choices available to create robust and classic Website Development yet PHP will be action ahead of all and offer many useful features and functionalites. PHP based website is an ideal platform to flash and graphics for giving striking and attractive looks to the site. The versatility of PHP as a web design language is pretty much unmatched by any other scripting language,and since it was initially created it has been consistently used to produce the same excellent results. Using these frameworks, PHP developers would shorten the development timeframe for PHP web development projects.

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Top Reasons why Enterprise Level Application should be built in Symfony

Among so many popular PHP frameworks why should one choose Symfony? There are 101 reasons to choose Symfony. It is the latest framework used world over having some amazing features and great documentation which can help its users. It can speed up creating robust web applications. And can maintain and customize web apps really well. Most important is, it is open-source, free and its libraries deliver some of the best standardized set of job-specific tools, that can be used across many different projects. It follows (MVC) Model View Controller paradigm and avoids using repetitive tasks.

The Symfony has delivered best applications sufficing various needs of business and enterprise domains. It has built applications for various sectors such as community sectors, social networking sectors, content management, online auction, online invoice etc. It can be used as a free project management tool suitable for small to big size projects. It is fully configurable. Managing tasks, people, customers get easier in enterprise level applications. Some of the best and popular sites using this framework are Snippet, Steer CMS, Askeet, PlanCake, Limetracker, Yahoo bookmark, travel bug, w3counter.com etc.

This open source framework was born in 2005 and is the first unique framework to support the latest PHP version 5.3 to by has a huge community of users and contributors. More than 550 people contributed to the Symfony core and the community was over 1,600 bundles for the full-stack framework. It also has many annual dedicated conferences around the world and has a huge fan following user group.

Top Reasons to choose Sympony:

• Flexible Architecture: It enables developers to create superb and long-lasting web applications and web services in the easiest possible way. Empowered by MVC components, which enable this application to filter the logic from its defined user interface – in order to make the desired changes. In fact, testing also becomes easier and faster.

• Innovation: Symfony has everything one expects from a framework, it is flexible, got a good speed, reusable components, etc. Then a structure of what has been developed and uses of best practices.

• Useful: Since Sensio has developed a habit of shaking up the established order and is always striving for excellence, Symfony (and its entire community) has developed a sense of curiosity that goes well beyond PHP. And has some added features which has served the world of PHP in a different way, such as dependency injection from the Java world. It has a web debug toolbar which has helped programmers in a productive way.

• Interoperability: Build applications in a way to meet the best business needs, for this Symfony plays a big role. Symfony respects the existing standards of PHP: The PHPUnit, naming conventions for classes, etc. Furthermore, Symfony also allows to use certain of its software building blocks such as translation management, dependency injector, form management, etc. without necessarily using the framework in its entirety. It has interoperable features and uses external software building blocks like Swiftmailer.

• Reputation: Quickly adopted by technocrats active in this field following its launch in 2005, Symfony today gives stable environment that is both popular and recognized internationally. The number of its references have grown significantly since its launch. Symfony is also an active community driven; developers, integrators, users and other contributors who participate in the ongoing enrichment of this tool.

• Easier Maintenance: Symfony automatically has low performance overheads. Symfony development builds customized, robust applications for all kinds of enterprises, as well as enables developers full control over the configuration i.e. one can customize everything. Symfony have a collection of tools to help programmers to unit test, debug and document development process in order to match enterprise specifications.

• Resources: It builds robust applications in an enterprise context, thus provides developers full liberty to control over the configuration – right from directory structure to the foreign libraries everything. Symfony aims at shortening this time and also aims at automating common tasks so that the developer can focus on various specifications of the web applications.

• References: It renders applications for varied sectors such as intranets, public sites, community sites, social networks, management and workflow applications, etc. Examples hundreds of sites and applications of all sizes and of all types trust Symfony. Yahoo, Opensky.com, Dailymotion, have been supported by this framework .

Symfony is a well-organized and simple to use and learn framework. Written in PHP language, it is one of those PHP5 frameworks which has a good documentation support , number of useful plug-ins, updates, new release versions and much more. Symfony framework is also gaining popularity and recognition for its simple installation and stable performance in Windows and other systems.It supports databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Oracle. It even supports automated form validation and user input clearance for avoiding SQL injections and XSS attacks.

Resolving routine tasks of Symfony developers is quick with Symfony Development as it allows rapid web application development as well as web application management. It aims to build classic applications in an enterprise level, which means one can get total control over the configuration right from the directory structure to libraries and almost everything can be customized. Symfony is bundled with additional tools for development purpose, thus helping to test its applications. It can debug and document any project. By choosing this framework, one can get the benefit of an active open-source community. PHP web development teams can help you build projects within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php development services. If you would like to discuss with a certified php developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Top 5 Amazing Features of FuelPHP Framework

As technology is changing so the demand of new techniques are evolving in the web development field. Many PHP frameworks offering extensive designs with exclusive features that makes source code programming less complicated there by providing standard templates and plug-ins. Some of these PHP development frameworks have corporate communities who offer solid Web development support by providing best business standards. Code Igniter Kohana, Zend and FuelPHP are some of the most popular upcoming PHP frameworks, with merits and demerits depending on PHP requirements. Dan Horrigan created a FuelPHP framework in the year October 2010. It takes advantage of the bells and whistles of PHP 5.3+ and works like CodeIgniter.

FuelPHP is a new entry to the IT market this year. It is knocking Kohana off of the fourth spot. It is modular which means one can quickly “bolt” parts onto applications. The code compact, simple and slicker more than with Codeigniter. The framework follows (Model View Architecture) MVC architecture along with ViewModels (also known as presentation models) which were added to the mix which gives a powerful layer between the Controller and the View.

FuelPHP is a combo of CodeIgniter and Kohana. Its codebase covers lot of functionalities such as Caching, HMVC, Sesiions, Models, ActiveRecord, Cookies, Templating, Forms, Templating and many more. Has a cascading file system like Kohana framework. Additional functionalities can be added as packages. It is flexible enough in almost all components of the core framework and can be extended or replaced. Developers love to work on this framework because of its various customized features and many benefits it bestows upon its users. It provides an amazing structure usually in the customized version of CodeIgniter and takes advantages of PHP 5 version.

Top 5 Amazing Features of FuelPHP Framework

• Complete Flexibility – One of the many benefits of Fuel is that there are very few restrictions on how to write code. Classes can be in any file structure one wants, declare any folder as a “modules” folder, easily extend native classes and there are countless other examples of how Fuel lets one write code in their own way.

• Community Enthusiasm – Just like CodeIgniter framework, FuelPHP is huge community driven framework used for web development. Libraries and constant modifications were being developed and released, which helps to keep the framework moving forward when the core was moving at a slower pace before. Its structure helps to develop core, modules, and packages at an incredible quicker pace.

• Built in Modular structure –This is the reason why this framework is so popular among the developers and ranks FuelPHP in the first place. Fuel doesn’t force anyone into using modules or an HMVC file structure, but if one chooses to implement them the process is well documented and quite easy to integrate. Once apps are created in a modular structure fashion, it becomes easier for developers with clear benefits.

• ORM in the Core – This package gives a chance for one module in the new application and ended up using it for every module so far. It maps a model to each table in the database, assigns the fields of the table and their respective relationships to other tables. FuelPHP is small, fast and allows to develop web based applications very quickly. It is fully extendible and comes with built-in module and package support.

• Security – Out-of-the-box FuelPHP’s Views will encode all output to make it secure and prevent XSS attacks. If one need to allow HTML through it can mark as safe or have it cleaned by the default included HTMLawed. This framework supports input filtering, CSRF prevention with tokens and the Query Builder which assists in preventing any SQL injection attacks. PHPSecLib offers several security features inside the framework. More about it has some customized security features such as SQL injection prevention, URI filtering, XSS filtering, Output encoding etc.

With over 20 million indexed domains using PHP frameworks, including major websites such as WordPress, Facebook, there are good reasons why many web developers prefer it to other server-side scripting languages, such as Python and Ruby. It normalizes web apps, assists productivity, reduces repetitive coding and creates more stable sites. Among so many frameworks one has to decide which would be the best to suit their business needs, as each of them has astounding features which deploys classic web applications.

We provide php application development services. If you would like to discuss with a certified php developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.