What does a Laravel developer do?

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What does a Laravel developer do?

A Laravel developer writes programs with this free PHP web framework under the MVC pattern initiated by Taylor Otwell in 2011. The source code can be downloaded from GitHub.

The development of Laravel (abbreviation: LV) followed the intention to create a better alternative to the CodeIgniter framework, because this framework lacks some features such as authorization and authentication. The Laravel framework has been continuously developed since 2011. Version 11 has been available since March 2024.

From the first version onwards, the Artisan command line tool, database support, schema migration, event processing, software packages as bundles, a scheduler for periodic tasks, the integration of external authentication procedures, anonymous migrations, PHP 8 string functions, controller route groups and (from version 10) a process service for the execution of CLI processes were added. These extensions are only mentioned here as examples, there are more.

They were not always spectacular. The latest version 11 (as of March 2024) is characterized above all by a leaner folder structure, which enables a new installation with just 69 files.

Applications and services

Since 2011, numerous services based on the work of developers have been created around the Laravel ecosystem. Laravel Forge, for example, is a SaaS product for server operation and provisioning.

With Forge, servers can be operated on Digital Ocean, AWS, Hetzner Online, Linode Virtual and independently of providers. It can also be used to install PHP, MySQL, nginx, Redis and beanstalkd. Laravel developers can also use it to set up a frontend for managing cronjobs.

The Service Envoyer serves as a deployment and monitoring tool for the Laravel server. Videos are available on demand at Laracasts.com. With Laravel Spark, the developers have created a way to simplify user management, the frontend and payments via Stripe or Braintree (important for PayPal).

With the Laravel Nova service, developers can very easily set up a CRUD administration panel and manage the queues with Redis using Horizon. Other services that developers specializing in Laravel can use and set up include

  • Lumen as a reduced LV framework for the development of REST APIs
  • LV-Valet and -Homestead as tools for testing Laravel applications without a local PHP installation
  • Telescope for extended debug functions and an overview of error messages, logs and database queries
  • Vapor as a SaaS product for easy management of the AWS serverless infrastructure
  • LV echo for WebSocket broadcasting and the LV mix for compiling
  • LV-Passport for the creation of OAuth servers
  • LV-Cashier for Stripe integration
  • Dusk for browser tests
  • LV-Scout for the full text search

The integration of GitHub, Facebook and other services is also possible. The developers use LV-Socialite for this. You can access PHP databases with the Laravel Tinker command line REPL.

Skills required for the framework

In order for developers to work with Laravel, they must be proficient in PHP. The creation of PHP web applications is particularly important. Furthermore, a PHP editor is required for LV development. The developers can then work with the Laravel PHP framework, which is designed as a web app construction.

In recent years, the creation of web applications and websites has become easier, with tools such as Laravel contributing to this. It serves as a cross-platform PHP framework with which web applications can be developed. LV developers can use a large library of pre-programmed functions, including authentication, routing and HTML templates.

With easy access to the Laravel library, robust web applications can be created relatively quickly and with minimal code. The LV development environment is considered highly functional because it has expressive and intuitive command line interfaces. In addition, Laravel uses ORM (object-relational mapping) for easier data access. The applications created with it are highly scalable, while the code base is very easy to maintain. With the modular package system and solid dependency management, LV developers can seamlessly add additional functions to any application.

Front-end and back-end functions

The development framework is primarily used for back-end design, but also offers front-end functions. Many of the LV features are front-end agnostic. This means that they function independently of specific frameworks and are therefore cross-platform. This is a great advantage for LV development because it allows autonomous, independent teams to work separately on the same project.

Nevertheless, the final front end provides a uniform user experience for all modules and sections. A framework-agnostic design fundamentally enables the more flexible and scalable development of front ends. The LV PHP framework uses a scripting language, it is not itself a strict PHP programming language. While scripting and programming languages are related, there are some notable differences in terms of ease of use and speed of execution.

Advantages for safety

It is well known that there are many other PHP applications, such as WordPress, which have important advantages over the LV PHP framework in terms of security. These older PHP developments have some known vulnerabilities. Their vulnerabilities to code and SQL injections are best known.

In a code injection, an attacker injects malicious code. In SQL injection, it exploits security gaps in relational database systems in which data is entered using the SQL language. The LV PHP framework prevents both forms of injection. LV developers are nevertheless recommended to make additional efforts to ensure safety.

These include penetration tests and web application firewalls. The two go hand in hand when it comes to the necessary safety precautions. The developers usually have the complex LV penetration tests carried out by qualified cybersecurity professionals. They try to break into the system. In doing so, they identify unpatched security vulnerabilities.

Advantages of the application

Companies that expect benefits for the application prefer to develop with Laravel. Developers can learn the language relatively easily if they have the right background. As mentioned, this includes a general understanding of PHP. Object-oriented programming concepts (OOP) must also be mastered by LV developers. Knowledge of HTML and an understanding of relational database management systems such as MySQL and PostgreSQL are naturally a prerequisite.

Routing, authentication, migration, caching and other tasks are very easy with the LV framework. Prefabricated modules can also be integrated relatively easily into the applications. The progressive LV framework provides experienced developers with extensive online documentation and learning resources for all skill levels.

Experienced users can use the Starterkits Engines to build their own authentication processes and integrate them into their preferred frontends.

High scalability and large ecosystem

Last but not least, Laravel is highly scalable and is now based on a huge ecosystem with a constantly growing community. In 2024, it is one of the most widely used PHP frameworks with a considerable library of available applications and packages.

Features such as intuitive route handling, user authentication and authorization, email verification, encryption services, password hashing and password reset functions also give the framework the reputation of being one of the most advanced applications of scripting languages.

Conclusion

Laravel development is undoubtedly one of the most exciting tasks for programmers at the moment, with a huge range of applications. Many companies are desperately looking for experts in this field.

Interesting links:

Here more about how to become a Laravel programmer

Further training on Laravel

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