Laravel vs CodeIgniter: A Deep Dive into Key Differences Between Two PHP Frameworks

Comparison of Laravel and CodeIgniter

In PHP development, selecting the right framework is crucial for building efficient and maintainable web applications. Laravel and CodeIgniter are two of the most popular frameworks, each with its own unique features and advantages.

Framework Overview

Laravel is an expressive full-stack framework that enhances developer productivity by reducing boilerplate code and offering powerful development tools. CodeIgniter, on the other hand, is a lightweight framework known for its flexibility, excellent performance, and developer-friendly documentation.

Key Differences

Routing System

Laravel uses an expressive routing system, allowing developers to define routes concisely:

Route::get('/hello', function() { return 'Hello, world!'; });

In contrast, CodeIgniter uses a traditional URI-based routing system, though it introduced an expressive routing system in CodeIgniter 4:

$routes->get('hello', 'Welcome::index');

ORM (Object-Relational Mapping)

Laravel uses the Eloquent ORM, simplifying database operations by enabling object-based interactions with the database:

$user = User::find(1);

CodeIgniter uses the ActiveRecord ORM, which requires more boilerplate code but offers greater flexibility:

$query = $this->db->get('users');

$user = $query->row();

Model Design

Laravel's model base class is lightweight and provides built-in support for CRUD operations and other common methods, reducing repetitive code:

class User extends Model {}

CodeIgniter models allow greater customization but require more boilerplate code:

class User_model extends CI_Model {}

Controllers

Laravel follows the traditional MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern, separating business logic and views:

class UserController extends Controller {}

CodeIgniter uses the MHM (Model-Helper-Manager) pattern, where controllers are optional:

class Welcome extends CI_Controller {}

Practical Examples

Here are code examples for creating a user in both Laravel and CodeIgniter:

Laravel Example

use App\User;

$user = new User;

$user->name = 'John Doe';

$user->email = 'john.doe@example.com';

$user->password = bcrypt('secret');

$user->save();

CodeIgniter Example

$this->db->insert('users', [

  'name' => 'John Doe',

  'email' => 'john.doe@example.com',

  'password' => password_hash('secret', PASSWORD_DEFAULT)

]);

Conclusion

Both Laravel and CodeIgniter are powerful PHP frameworks, but they differ significantly in terms of design philosophy, routing system, ORM, and models. By choosing the most suitable framework based on your project needs and developer preferences, you can greatly improve development efficiency and the maintainability of your application.