Laravel vs PHP: What are the differences?

Differences Between Laravel and PHP

Laravel and PHP are both programming languages that are commonly used for web development. However, there are several key differences between them.

1. Framework vs Language: Laravel is a framework built on top of PHP, which means it provides a structure and set of tools to make web development easier and faster. On the other hand, PHP is a general-purpose scripting language that can be used for various purposes beyond web development.

2. Simplicity vs Flexibility: Laravel is designed to be simple and easy to use, with a clear and intuitive syntax. It provides a lot of built-in features and functionalities like routing, caching, and authentication, which makes development faster. PHP, on the other hand, offers more flexibility and control over the code but requires more manual coding and configuration.

3. Community Support and Documentation: Laravel has a large and active community of developers, which means there are plenty of resources, tutorials, and documentation available to help with learning and problem-solving. PHP also has a large community, but the resources are more scattered and often require more effort to find.

4. Object-Oriented Programming: Laravel encourages the use of object-oriented programming (OOP) principles and design patterns, which makes code organization and maintenance easier in the long run. PHP also supports OOP, but it is not as strongly enforced or encouraged as in Laravel.

5. Security Features: Laravel has built-in security features like CSRF protection, encryption, and secure authentication mechanisms, which helps developers prevent common security vulnerabilities. PHP, on the other hand, does not have these features built-in, and developers need to implement them manually.

6. Database Handling: Laravel comes with an ORM (Object Relational Mapping) tool called Eloquent, which provides a convenient way to interact with databases using PHP code. It abstracts the database operations and makes it easier to work with databases. PHP, on the other hand, requires more manual coding and configuration to interact with databases.

In summary, Laravel is a framework built on top of PHP that provides a simpler and more structured approach to web development, with built-in features and a large community support. PHP, on the other hand, offers more flexibility and control but requires more manual coding and configuration.