Symfony vs Laravel with Examples- Pros and Cons, Learning curve, Performance

Symfony and Laravel are both popular PHP frameworks used to build web applications. Both frameworks have their own unique features and advantages, and the choice of which one to use often depends on the specific needs of the project.

In this article:

What is Symfony

Symfony is a PHP web application framework that was first released in 2005 by Fabien Potencier. It was designed to simplify the process of building complex web applications by providing a set of reusable, decoupled components that could be used independently or as part of a full-stack framework.

Symfony has always been known for its focus on best practices and its commitment to object-oriented design principles. It is widely used in enterprise-level projects and has a strong reputation for stability, scalability, and maintainability.

Over the years, Symfony has evolved significantly, with the latest version, Symfony 5, introducing a number of new features and improvements, including a new routing system, improved performance, and support for PHP 8.

What is Laravel

Laravel is a PHP web application framework that was first released in 2011 by Taylor Otwell. It was designed to provide a simple, elegant, and expressive way to build modern web applications using PHP.

Laravel is known for its focus on developer productivity, with a wide range of features and tools that make it easy to build and maintain web applications. It has gained a large following among PHP developers in recent years, and is now one of the most popular PHP frameworks available.

Laravel was inspired by other popular web frameworks, including Ruby on Rails and Sinatra, and incorporates many of their best features and ideas. It is built on top of several Symfony components, which provide a solid foundation for building robust and scalable applications.

In addition to its core features, Laravel also has a thriving ecosystem of third-party packages and extensions, making it easy to add new functionality to your applications.

Symfony code vs Laravel code

Symfony - Hello World

use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

function helloWorld()
{
    $response = new Response();
    $response->setContent('Hello World!');
    $response->setStatusCode(Response::HTTP_OK);
    $response->headers->set('Content-Type', 'text/plain');

    return $response;
}

This code defines a simple function that returns a "Hello World!" response using the Symfony Response object. The code explicitly sets the status code and content type of the response, and uses the headers property to add a custom header.

Laravel - Hello World

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

This code defines a simple route using the Laravel routing system. The route returns a "Hello World!" string directly, without using an explicit response object. Laravel's routing system automatically sets the status code and content type of the response based on the returned value.

Main differences between Laravel and Symfony

Philosophy

Symfony is known for its focus on best practices, performance, and security. It's a more flexible and modular framework that allows developers to choose the components they need and configure them as needed. Laravel, on the other hand, is known for its focus on developer productivity and ease of use. It has a more opinionated approach and provides a set of features out of the box that are designed to make development faster and more efficient.

Components

Symfony provides a wide range of standalone components that can be used independently of the framework itself. For example, you can use the HttpFoundation component to work with HTTP requests and responses, the Routing component to build a custom routing system, or the Security component to add authentication and authorization to your application. Laravel, on the other hand, has a smaller set of built-in components and relies more heavily on third-party packages. For example, Laravel uses the Carbon library for working with dates and times, and the Flysystem package for working with files and storage.

Architecture

Symfony follows a more traditional MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture, where the controller handles user input and updates the model, which in turn updates the view. Laravel uses the newer MVVC (Model-View-View-Controller) architecture, which separates the view and controller responsibilities into two separate layers. In Laravel, the view is responsible for rendering the output and the controller is responsible for processing the input and updating the model.

Syntax

Symfony uses a more verbose and explicit syntax, with a focus on readability and maintainability. For example, here's how you might define a controller action in Symfony:

namespace App\Controller;

use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Response;

class HelloWorldController
{
    public function index()
    {
        $response = new Response('Hello World!');
        return $response;
    }
}

Laravel, on the other hand, uses a more expressive and concise syntax, with a focus on reducing boilerplate code and improving developer productivity. Here's how you might define the same controller action in Laravel:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

class HelloWorldController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        return 'Hello World!';
    }
}

Templating

Symfony uses its own templating engine, called Twig, which is designed to be secure, flexible, and easy to use. Here's an example of how you might use Twig to render a template in Symfony:

{% extends 'base.html.twig' %}

{% block content %}
    <h1>{{ page_title }}</h1>
    <p>{{ page_content }}</p>
{% endblock %}

Laravel, on the other hand, uses the Blade templating engine, which is designed to be fast, easy to learn, and powerful. Here's an example of how you might use Blade to render a template in Laravel:

@extends('layouts.base')

@section('content')
    <h1>{{ $pageTitle }}</h1>
    <p>{{ $pageContent }}</p>
@endsection

Database

Symfony has a built-in ORM called Doctrine, which provides a powerful and flexible way to work with databases in PHP. Here's an example of how you might define an entity in Doctrine:

namespace App\Entity;

use Doctrine\ORM\Mapping as ORM;

/**
 * @ORM\Entity
 */
class User
{
    /**
     * @ORM\Id
     * @ORM\GeneratedValue
     * @ORM\Column(type="integer")
     */
    private $id;

    /**
     * @ORM\Column(type="string", length=255)
     */
    private $name;

    // ...
}

Routing

Symfony uses a powerful routing system that provides support for route parameters, optional segments, and more. Here's an example of how you might define a route in Symfony:

use Symfony\Component\Routing\Annotation\Route;

class BlogController
{
    /**
     * @Route("/blog/{slug}", name="blog_show")
     */
    public function show($slug)
    {
        // ...
    }
}

Laravel, on the other hand, uses a simpler and more expressive routing system that allows you to define routes using a fluent syntax. Here's an example of how you might define the same route in Laravel:

Route::get('/blog/{slug}', function ($slug) {
    // ...
})->name('blog.show');

Testing

Symfony provides a comprehensive testing framework that includes support for unit, functional, and acceptance testing. Here's an example of how you might write a functional test in Symfony:

use Symfony\Bundle\FrameworkBundle\Test\WebTestCase;

class BlogControllerTest extends WebTestCase
{
    public function testShow()
    {
        $client = static::createClient();
        $client->request('GET', '/blog/my-post');
        $this->assertSame(200, $client->getResponse()->getStatusCode());
    }
}

Laravel, on the other hand, has a simpler testing system that includes support for unit and feature testing. Here's an example of how you might write a feature test in Laravel:

use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use Tests\TestCase;

class BlogTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;
    public function testShow()
    {
        $response = $this->get('/blog/my-post');
        $response->assertStatus(200);
    }
}

Community

Both Symfony and Laravel have large and active communities, but Symfony has been around longer and has a larger user base, while Laravel has experienced explosive growth in recent years. Symfony has a strong focus on enterprise-level projects, with support for large-scale applications and advanced features like caching, queuing, and message handling. Laravel, on the other hand, is popular among developers who value productivity and ease of use, with a focus on modern PHP development and clean, expressive code.

Alternatives to Symfony and Laravel

There are several alternatives to Symfony and Laravel that are worth considering depending on your specific needs and preferences. Here are a few:

CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is a lightweight PHP framework that is known for its simplicity and ease of use. It was first released in 2006 and has since become a popular choice for small to medium-sized projects that don't require the full feature set of larger frameworks like Symfony or Laravel. CodeIgniter has a strong community and is well-documented, making it easy to get started with.

CakePHP

CakePHP is a PHP web application framework that is known for its strong emphasis on convention over configuration. It was first released in 2005 and has since gained popularity for its ease of use and low learning curve. CakePHP's conventions make it easy to get started, while still providing the flexibility needed for medium-sized projects.

Zend Framework

Zend Framework is a PHP web application framework that is known for its modular architecture and flexible design. It was first released in 2006 and has since become a popular choice for large-scale, complex projects. Zend Framework's modules make it highly extensible and allow developers to build applications of almost any size or complexity.

Yii

Yii is a PHP web application framework that is known for its speed and performance. It was first released in 2008 and has since gained popularity for its caching, lazy loading, and other optimizations that can help improve application speed. Yii is a good choice for medium to large-scale projects that require high performance.

Phalcon

Phalcon is a PHP web application framework that is unique in that it is implemented as a C extension for PHP, which makes it run faster than traditional PHP frameworks. It was first released in 2012 and has since gained popularity for its speed and performance. Phalcon is a good choice for projects that require high performance.

Conclusion

Overall, both Symfony and Laravel are popular and powerful PHP web application frameworks with their own unique strengths and advantages. The choice between the two often comes down to the specific needs and preferences of the developer or development team.

Updated