Why Build Small Sized Web Applications with Silex Micro-Framework?

Each developer has options to pick from a variety of PHP frameworks according to the nature and requirements of his application. But most of the PHP frameworks are complex, heavy and feature-rich. Also, these frameworks are designed specifically to meet the requirements of large and complicated enterprise applications. So, developers often explore alternatives to these full-stack frameworks for building simple and small-sized applications. As a PHP micro-framework, SIlex is hugely popular among developers who want to build small sized web applications at a rapid pace.

Fabien Potencier and Igor Wiedler have designed Silex as a micro-framework to build websites and web applications that are simple and small. Along with being inspired by Sinatra, a powerful web application framework written using Ruby, Silex is also built on Pimple and Simfony2. So the platform enables developers to avail the features and benefits provided by some of the most popular PHP development frameworks. At the same time, Silex also comes with a set of innovative features that make it score over other micro-frameworks available for developing PHP applications.

What Makes Silex Micro-Framework the Best Option to Build Small Sized Web Applications?

• High Quality Code Base: Regardless of the size of the application, each developer looks for options to avoid writing lengthy code. Also, many programmers want to build the website quickly by using the features and tools provided by the framework. As Silex is built based on Symfony components, it allows developers to avail a set of built in features and functionality. Also, a programmer can run the application simply by writing code, defining the route, and matching the route to the function to return response. Further, the concise and intuitive API provided by the micro-framework makes developing small web application much easier and hassle-free.

• Easy to Include Third-Party Libraries: Along with providing an efficient API, Silex also allows you to boost the performance of the web application by using third-party libraries. It also comes with an extension system designed based on Pimple micro service-container. So you can use the system to avail the advantages offered by the widely used PHP framework. At the same time, the system also makes it easier for you to use third-party libraries to optimize the performance and scalability of your website without writing longer code.

• Handling Errors: Often programmers find it a daunting task to display the appropriate error page to the users, whenever the code throws an exception. Many developers also rely on error handlers to display the error page by identifying the exception. Silex allows programmers to register an error handler, pass a closure to the error methods by sending exception argument, and return a response to the user. Further, they can use the $code argument to identify the specific errors, and handle these in a customized way. Also, the micro-framework ensures that response status code is set to the right one based on the type of exception thrown by the code.

• Testing Performance of Websites: Most developers test the performance of the web application during various stages of the project. They also use customized testing tools to ensure that the website is effective in responding to user requests quickly. Silex is designed with the HttpKernel used by Symfony2 for abstract user requests and application response. So a programmer can easily test the performance of the web application and framework without using any customized testing tools. The features also help programmers in testing the application thoroughly according to the exact HTTP specification.

If you are planning to use Silex, the micro-framework can be downloaded and installed through a simple process. You can simply download the composer, and set it up by changing your project directories. Then you can run the command to download and run the composer file. Also, you can start using the framework for developing small web application as soon as the installation process is over.

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