Why do I like CakePHP so much? And so would you!

 I've tried a few PHP frameworks over the last year and a half, including CakePHP, Laravel, Silex, and Phalcon. CakePHP framework is my favourite of all of them.

 

It is difficult for a newbie to learn CakePHP. It is difficult to get started at first. CakePHP necessitates perseverance. CakePHP has a high learning curve that gets linear with time but never becomes steady (You always learn something new).

 

But wait a minute, after a while, coding with CakePHP seems like A PIECE OF CAKE.

 

M for Model runs the company. 

V for View represents the data to the client.

C for Controller manages the client request and aids in communication between the model and the view. 

 

Listed below are a few CakePHP features that help this Framework stand out.

 

1. Preference for Convention over Configuration

CakePHP favours convention over configuration, which implies that there are a few rules that must be observed while using CakePHP. Although you may wonder what is going on, in the long run they assist a lot and dramatically save the time it would take to administer your application.

 

2. Model of Inheritance

CakePHP has an excellent inheritance structure, with reusable functions preserved in the parent class and class-specific functions kept in the child class. If you have a method that only retrieves a certain field from the database, place it in the AppModel if it is used by many classes i.e. Model, and if the function is shared by several controllers, place it in the AppController.

 

3. Configuration Based on the Environment

Every application needs a unique set of setups, namely the production and development environments. To do this with CakePHP, create a separate file called config.php that contains all of the fundamental settings and API keys, and then import this file into your application's core.php file as follows:

 

Load Configure::config.php('config.php', 'default');

 

CakePHP development also includes two files that are relevant to your local machine environment, database.php and email.php.

 

4. Functions for saving data

CakePHP save methods are simple to use and allow you to choose between updating an existing record and generating a new one based on the value of the ID key.

 

Save works by referring to the model's schema and creating a sample model structure with their default values (it only uses those with default values), and then replacing those values with the data passes.

 

When you pass an empty array to the method, there is a minor catch. So, if an empty array is supplied, the save method will operate correctly and will return a proper answer, but an empty row will be generated in your table.

 

5. Before/after callbacks (SAVE, FIND, FILTER, VALIDATE)

The callbacks provided by CakePHP are one of the nicest things I discovered and enjoy about it. Both the Controllers and the Models have callbacks that are invoked in a certain order. For example, in your application, the controller will handle the requests that your application receives. Each request must be validated, and CakePHP provides the beforeFilter callback (which is called before any request reaches the desired endpoint). The beforeFilter function provides the best ground to authenticate and authorise each request as it is. Similarly, beforeFind allows you to specify a few default criteria before every save.

Note: When utilising update functions, the callbacks are not automatically invoked, therefore you must explicitly invoke them.

 

6. Scheduling

CakePHP provides a convenient method for routing requests to a Controller Endpoint. It includes a second file (routes.php) in which you may define all of the routes, as well as a list of custom routes. Furthermore, using routes, you may have api versioning utilising CakePHP prefixing. It also includes a default set of rest-routes that you can use to get your application up and running.

 

7. Bake Module – Generate Code Automatically

CakePHP's Bake console is another another effort to get you up and running with CakePHP services as quickly as possible. The Bake console may generate any of CakePHP's fundamental components, including models, views, and controllers. Bake can develop a completely working application in only a few minutes, not just skeleton classes. In fact, after scaffolding an application, Bake is a natural next step.

 

8. Find

CakePHP has a Find method that is simple to use and comprehend. This function's purpose is to conduct READ operations on your database and obtain data from it. By including the FIND function, you may avoid writing several sorts of SQL queries, such as repeated fetching, establishing a View, or executing a Join. CakePHP guarantees that you utilise the FIND function and leave the rest to the CakePHP ORM, which will create the query and provide the data in the suitable manner.

 

9. Elements and Behaviors

CakePHP has a set of Plug and Play packages known as Components and Behaviours, which are utilised in the Controllers and Models, respectively. If you believe that a big amount of the code you use is the same and can be reused to the point where various projects may use it, then Components and Behaviours are an excellent fit. Components allow Controllers to share code, and Behaviours let Models to do the same. Assume you are currently utilising Type A authentication to validate requests and want to switch to Type B. You simply need to replace Type A components in your controller with Type B components (Considering Authentication was done using a Component)

 

There are other more aspects of CakePHP that may be discussed, such as its ORM, sanitization, ACL, caching, and so on. But keep it brief. I hope that after reading this, you have a better understanding of how CakePHP may benefit you and are eager to test it out.