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frameworks |
Rather than re-invent the wheel, many PHP developers use frameworks to build out web applications. Frameworks abstract away many of the low-level concerns and provide helpful, easy-to-use interfaces to complete common tasks.
You do not need to use a framework for every project. Sometimes plain PHP is the right way to go, but if you do need a framework then there are three main types available:
- Micro Frameworks
- Full-Stack Frameworks
- Component Frameworks
Micro-frameworks are essentially a wrapper to route a HTTP request to a callback, controller, method, etc as quickly as possible, and sometimes come with a few extra libraries to assist development such as basic database wrappers and the like. They are prominently used to build remote HTTP services.
Many frameworks add a considerable number of features on top of what is available in a micro-framework and these are known Full-Stack Frameworks. These often come bundled with ORMs, Authentication packages, etc.
Component-based frameworks are collections of specialized and single-purpose libraries. Disparate component-based frameworks can be used together to make a micro- or full-stack framework.