Laravel is a popular open-source and free PHP programming language that makes the development process appealing with no compromise on quality. The language has adaptability and is more relatable due to the use of the Model View Controller (MVC) program. Laravel has the credit of a web application framework that takes the pain out of development to make the tasks in web projects easy.
As the demand for smartphones has increased, so has the need for associated websites and applications. Thus, when it goes down to writing codes for mobile app development services, every web developer has a different style. Development seems like chaos, and Laravel best practices bring calmness to work processes. Apart from making development easy, it comes with a variety of tools to help with neat development.
Features such as routing, caching, session creation, and authentication have made Laravel the most popular and the best PHP framework to handle complex web applications.
What problems does Laravel handle in PHP?
Laravel is a program designed to handle various problems and issues during the PHP development process. Some of the problems that Laravel manages include:
- Blocking illegal or unauthorized access to any paid or secured resource by configuring everything outside of the environment
- Pre-configuration of error handling and logging those errors in App\Exceptions\Handler Class
- Laravel has built-in tools that resolve issues of efficiency in development and applications by speeding up the processes. Any Laravel application development company can improve their productivity using these tools
- Laravel eliminates the need for a task scheduling system by using a built-in command scheduler allowing users to configure their schedules
- PHP Artisan command lines eliminate repetitiveness by completing programming tasks and avoid manual processes
- Developers can spot any technical vulnerabilities and manage them using the Laravel maintenance system
What are the best features of Laravel ?
Developers have to consider core features to ensure the following best practices for Laravel development. Here are the best features of Laravel:
1. Eloquent ORM (Object Relational Mapping):
Eloquent ORM is software embedded into a Laravel structure that represents data as objects to create efficiency in the interaction of tasks and data tables. PHP developers use it to execute relational databases through PHP syntax and eliminate the need for SQL code.
2. Session and Cache Handling:
Laravel collects data and information for processing and stores them in drives such as Redis or Memcached. Users have easy access to these drives and can make instant retrieval of any item. The cache handling features enables applications to run faster and better.
3. Security Standards:
Developers using Laravel can greatly reduce the chances of errors or security breaches if they follow the laravel security best practices for writing and organizing code. Laravel offers a robust layer of security that is hard to find in other systems, utilizing security-related tokens like CSRF to ensure only authenticated users can make requests to the application.
In addition, password storage is handled in a secure manner, using hashed and salted patterns rather than plain text to make them more difficult to breach. By adhering to Laravel security standards, developers can ensure the security of their application.
4. Route Handling:
Laravel handles routes in a simple way to build an interface between the client and the application.
5. Authentication:
Since authentication implementation has several ways, Laravel sets a limit for developers. The developer or any genuine user has to run a single command line and set everything for authentication.
6. Debugging:
When there are any changes made to the web interface, some errors and bugs are bound to arise. However, Laravel has tools such as Debugger that have the ability to predict those downtimes. These tools execute tests that reduce the possibility of bugs and any possible break in the application’s functionality.
Plugin Usage: Laravel supports the use of plugins for web developers to design their preferred ecosystem and application according to their requirements.
7. Unit Testing:
Laravel unit testing function allows users to uncover any issues through tests run on single models and controllers.
What are the best practices for Laravel development?
When writing codes for development, every developer has a different style. Mobile app development services or any web development company Houston needs to consider a few factors to make their development easy and smooth.
Following a few Laravel best practices will cover the development process without any hassle or issues. These operative practices include:
1. Using the Stable and Latest Version
The most important among the best practices for Laravel development is to use a stable and latest version of the software. The current version has all of the security features embedded to keep the data protected with all the updated features/tools.
The latest version entitles a user to a secure and better-performing solution on the web. Currently, programmers should utilize Laravel version 9 to make the best out of their programming efforts.
2. Business Logic in Service Class
Controllers are the least thought about factor when handling business logic. The reason is the confusion it causes when a user needs to reproduce the functionality in multiple places. The code should be clean by setting logic in the service class and separated for controllers to fulfill only one responsibility.
Hopefully, the programmer can reuse the service in other controllers. A graphical example of good and bad logic may clarify the idea:
3. Setting Plugins
Choosing from and setting plugins is also one of the Laravel best practices to follow. Programmers have the availability of many plugins to make their respective development processes easier and more effective.
The use of plugins brings more functionality to web solutions, but users have to select them wisely. Improper usage or unavailability of plugins hamper the development process and makes functionality a challenge.
Ensure that the plugins are in abundance and disable the ones not useful so they do not disturb the rest of the website’s functioning.
4. Artisan Command Line Interface
Using Laravel’s Artisan command line interface enables a smooth development process through the Symfony Console component as the base. Users who want to enjoy a better web development process should go for the best Artisan CLI that impacts the procedure in a positive way.
Setting this tool for a project supports task scheduling and triggers action for the occurrence of a particular event. Programmers need to consider this part as a best practice for their development effort. An example of an Artisan command running from an HTTP route:
5. Maintaining Coding Standards
Following the right standards helps in making way for not only genuine web solutions but also the authenticity of the performance. Almost every framework has a set standard, and developers need to follow those respective conducts to maintain the quality of their applications.
Laravel also contains a set of internal code standards, and as long as the variables remain compatible with the composer, the system does not restrict following them. Still, experts suggest following PSR-2 and PSR-4 coding standards. PSR-2 gives a single style guide for PHP that results in uniformity in shared codes. PSR-4 describes the auto-loading feature and file placement according to specification.
6. Using Autoload and Migrations
Users can utilize any class or plain PHP code as long as the autoloader feature picks them. The practice prevents checking whether PHP has loaded a file or not, and it increases script performance. Instead, PHP notifies when there is a need for a particular file or not during the development.
Similarly, making use of migrations is also one of Laravel best practices that helps during the creation of web solutions. Data migrations support the construction of a data table that adds and alters required fields.
7. Validation
Most Laravel developers follow the bad practice of putting their validation logic into controllers. Instead, they should put their validation rules into their request class. An example to explain the practice shows:
8. Maintaining Laravel Naming Conventions
Using naming conventions accepted by the Laravel community supports the organization of files. Using naming conventions consistently is necessary, as disorganization leads to confusion and eventually causes errors. A guideline in tabular form makes understanding easy.
9. Eloquent Query over Raw SQL
Using Eloquent Query over raw SQL code is among the preferred practices that developers need to consider. The feature allows the extraction of data to display for end users using a single query. Hence, it is one of the most preferred Laravel best practices for web solution development framework.
Eloquent ORM takes care of any naming conventions and eliminates issues related to eloquent during the development process.
10. Debugging and Removing Unnecessary Plugins
Debugging is a practice that users need to consider as it helps create optimized applications free from bugs and errors. Laravel comes with a set of debugging components, while programmers can also use debugging packages such as Laravel Debugbar. These packages provide information to optimize an application.
Following this practice keeps the website clean of issues. It is better to let the developer know about the respective practice while working on applications to save time and effort.
Final Words
Hopefully, the above best practices for Laravel development give you an understanding of their importance and consideration while working on an application. Laravel is the best PHP framework today that website and application developers utilize for the best results and performance. If you consider hiring developers for your startup, let them know about these best practices to ensure you get the application according to requirements.
