Apr 26, 2008

CodeIgniter - A lean, fast and efficient PHP Framework

I had been a web developer myself for several years and over those years I had been developing my own set of PHP libaries, downloading some from other developers, and compiling for my own professional use. Basically, I am building my own set of small framework so I can do more for less time.

Yes, I was able to read about several frameworks for PHP but most of these seem too heavy with features you will most likely not use at all, or very restrictive on how you write your code.

After months of researching and waiting for a better framework, I came across the perfect framework that is a surefire hit for many PHP programmers - CodeIgniter! I definitely love CodeIgniter because of the following general features:

  • Very light weight and extremely fast: CI's only got the essential libraries for you to build a web app fast thus it loads and runs fast with very small footprint. I think it is the fastest running php framework available today!

  • Flexible: If you have your own set of compiled php libraries, you can simply insert them in the framework as plugin. Extensibility is never a problem.

  • Very well documented: One very important factor for me in considering a framework is its documentation and how it is written. CI has a very good documentation that even a newbie php programmer can easily follow on a begin coding productively in no time at all.

  • Clear segregation of development roles - the M-V-C Model: You can have a team of programmers and developers working on the same project without 'stepping onto each other's toes'. This means that your development crew can work separately on UI and programming logic. This way, development is efficient and be productive at the same time.

  • Broad compatibility: Some frameworks like CakePHP requires command line interfaces (CLI) to generate codes behind for you however, this is not practical if your into shared hosting which most of us are. This feature limits your applications compatibility.
I highly recommend project leaders and programmers alike to seriously, seriously consider this framework. We had been using this and I am proud to say that my programmers are very happy coding with it. Once again, hit your IT bottom lines - efficiency and productivity with CodeIgniter. Happy coding everyone.

Visit the CodeIgniter site here.

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