What is Symfony? 6 Reasons to choose this Framework

Before we jump into the discussion of the What is Symfony framework, first, let's discuss what is a framework?

What is Framework

Basically, a framework is a collection of reusable codes used for the completion of specific tasks to aid the development of software applications.

What is Symfony?

Symfony is the most stable framework which comes a long way to become the number 1 choice of developers. It is flexible enough to let the developers focus on specific features. Symfony is an open-source PHP framework, set of reusable components and released under MIT License.

6 Reasons to choose Symfony for your next Project:

• Well-established: Released in the year 2005, Symfony has made a long way to become a well-established and most reliable PHP framework. Now, it is the number 1 choice of all the developers as well as for the enterprise. Moreover, the developers help each other to solve the problem and get the best result.
• Testing: The code written in Symfony must be tested to ensure the stable work of an application. The reusability of bundles plays an important role in maintaining and testing in Symfony. The functional testing process is automated which helps to reduce the developer’s routine.
• Creativity: Symfony is built to extend the boundaries of past PHP. It is designed for dedicated innovation, for example when a new idea generates, it is modified to suit PHP. Along with this, Symfony learns from other advance frameworks to build better functionality.
• Interoperability: Initially, the framework is built only to meet common PHP standards, but then it started to use external software building itself. Moreover, Symfony without using the framework entirely, allows you to use certain pieces of its building blocks.
• Flexibility: The two most prominent features of Symfony that make it so flexible are Bundles and Components. You can take the benefit of reusing and reconfiguring from the bundles for many applications. Also, it reduces the overall cost. Similarly, the components are used to reduce the routine tasks that let the developers focus on specific business features.
• Longevity: Symfony is a framework that was designed to have for-profit to better serve its own customers. Furthermore, the community also helps to address issues through channels such as IRC and mailing.

Cons of Symfony Framework?

Performance: The main drawback of Symfony is its performance. As performance is the most important feature for all real-time applications, so many complaints are filed for this parameter. To solve this problem, one way is to update the application from PHP 5.0 to PHP 7.0. It will not just improve the performance, also increase the speed two times.

• Difficult to learn: In comparison with other frameworks such as Yii, Laravel, Symfony requires more effort to understand. But, due to having highly valuable features, it is treated as the most stable framework. Also, the feature of making complex solutions to problems helps it to get a high position in the list of frameworks.
• Longer to Launch: The Symfony has the feature to use the created code for other parts of the system too. This makes the testing easy but this decreases the speed of the development that leads to delay in the launch.

A tight comparison between Symfony and Zend Framework

Reason	Symfony	Zend
Designing	Symfony is created as a collection of reusable PHP components.	Zend is the object-oriented web framework for PHP.
MVC Architecture	Symfony does not support an MVC architecture.	Zend supports MVC architecture.
Databases	Symfony supports more databases then Zend. It both supports both relational and non-relation databases.	Zend supports PostgreSQL, MS SQL, Oracle, IBM DB2, My SQL, and DBeaver.
Object relation mapping	Symfony doesn’t come with any built-in an Object-Relation mapping system.	Zend comes up with built-in the Object-relation mapping (ORM) system.
Templates	Symfony developers write templates in a robust templating language called Twig. The programmers can use Twig to write readable and concise templates in a number of ways.	Zend allows developers to work with views through the Zend_View class. Zend_View enables them to use PHP as the template language or implement other template systems.
Easy to learn	Symfony can be learned easily than Zend.	Zend developers have to make more efforts than Symfony to learn it.
Used-By	Symfony components are being used by Laravel, OroCRM, Drupal, and phpBB.	Zend Framework is being used by several high-traffic websites including BBC, Cisco Webex, AutoTrack, Allied Beverage, Net retail Holding, and Offers.com.