Framework

Meaning

A framework is a structured set of code that provides routing, templates, database tools and conventions for building applications, and your own code fits into its structure. Typical features include validation, authentication, command line helpers, testing support and security defaults such as automatic output escaping. Laravel and Symfony are widely discussed in PHP, and CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Yii and Slim are also used. Learn plain PHP first so you understand requests, sessions and databases, then pick one framework and learn it well. See also: Composer, CMS, and the guide PHP Frameworks and CMS Ecosystem: A General Guide.