Why is Laravel NOT used in Big Development Projects?

Summary

In this insightful discussion, the speaker addresses common misconceptions about Laravel, a popular PHP framework, and its capabilities. They refute the claim that no impressive websites have been built with Laravel by citing examples of successful businesses built on it. The conversation delves into PHP's evolution, dispelling myths about its performance and security, and highlights Laravel's pragmatic and powerful MVC structure. The speaker also touches on the importance of choosing the right framework for the job and the significance of adapting to new technologies in the industry.

Takeaways

• 🤔 The speaker refutes the notion that no impressive websites have been built with Laravel, citing a 1.5 billion dollar business built on top of Laravel as an example.
• 🏢 The speaker has used Laravel for many years in high scale situations and finds it to be very effective, especially in dealing with school districts around the world.
• 🧐 The speaker suggests that the perception of PHP, not Laravel specifically, might be affecting its attractiveness to startups, due to outdated views on the language's capabilities.
• 🚀 PHP has evolved significantly, with PHP8 being a fully capable, enterprise-ready, object-oriented language that is performant and memory efficient.
• 🔒 Older versions of PHP had security vulnerabilities, but these have been addressed, and the bad reputation is unjustly stuck on PHP.
• 💬 The speaker concedes that PHP's syntax may not be the most aesthetically pleasing, but emphasizes that it can execute beautiful applications.
• 🛠 Laravel is described as a very well-crafted MVC framework, and the speaker has experience building his own MVC framework in Java.
• 🏆 The speaker mentions top Laravel web development companies with big-name clients like Pfizer and Microsoft, suggesting confidence in Laravel for new projects.
• 🤷‍♂️ For freelancers, the speaker suggests that sometimes a lighter PHP framework or even vanilla PHP might be more suitable for smaller projects.
• 📈 The speaker acknowledges that Laravel is more popular than Symfony but does not diminish the latter's capabilities, stating that many factors can influence a company's choice of framework.
• 🛑 The speaker emphasizes the importance of using the right tools for the job and not sticking to a single framework or language without considering the project's specific needs.

Q & A

Why does the speaker believe that the premise 'there are no impressive websites built with Laravel' is incorrect?

The speaker believes the premise is incorrect because they are aware of impressive websites built with Laravel, including a company valued at 1.5 billion dollars and their own experiences with high-scale deployments.

What does the speaker attribute the negative perception of PHP to?

The speaker attributes the negative perception of PHP to outdated myths about the language, with people still judging PHP based on its state 15 years ago rather than its current capabilities as a fully capable, enterprise-ready, object-oriented language.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of learning a lightweight PHP framework for freelancers?

The speaker believes that it is reasonable for freelancers to learn a lightweight PHP framework, as it may be more suitable for smaller projects, but emphasizes the importance of using the right tool for the right job.

Why does the speaker suggest that the use of Laravel by big companies like Pfizer and the World Trade Center might indicate confidence in the framework?

The speaker suggests that the use of Laravel by these companies indicates confidence because implementing new technologies involves risks and costs, such as hiring new developers, which implies that they see Laravel as a compelling choice.

What does the speaker mean when they say 'PHP is the porn of the programming world'?

The speaker uses this analogy to illustrate that despite PHP having a bad reputation, it is widely used, much like how people might not admit to using porn but many do.

What is the speaker's opinion on the syntax of PHP?

The speaker concedes that PHP's syntax is not the most aesthetically pleasing but asserts that it is more consistent than languages like JavaScript and Python, and that beautiful applications can still be executed with PHP.

What does the speaker suggest about the reasons for the lack of recognition for Laravel-built websites?

The speaker suggests that the lack of recognition might be due to the focus on Laravel-specific websites or a general bias against PHP, rather than any specific shortcomings of Laravel.

How does the speaker view the role of experience in choosing the right framework for a project?

The speaker emphasizes that experience is crucial in selecting the appropriate framework or technology for a project, as it allows developers to assess the job requirements and choose the best tools for the task.

What is the speaker's stance on teaching specific frameworks or libraries?

The speaker prefers not to teach specific frameworks or libraries due to their constant change and the abundance of tutorials available. Instead, they focus on teaching experience-based, professional development.

Why does the speaker compare the situation of PHP to Python's evolution from version 1.0 to 3.11?

The speaker uses this comparison to highlight how people's perceptions of PHP may be stuck in the past, much like if they thought Python was still at version 1.0 when it has evolved significantly to version 3.11.

What does the speaker imply about the performance improvements of PHP from version 5.6 to 8?

The speaker implies that PHP has seen significant performance improvements with each new version, especially noting a 50% efficiency increase from version 5.6 to 7 and additional improvements from 7 to 8.