Symfony is a framework, in other words a kind of "toolbox" containing all the elements to create a website. Indeed, rather than reinventing the wheel each time you want to develop a new site, the idea is to start from an identical "base" where the basic elements will already be in place, the ones found in all sites. Once set up, the framework will constitute the "skeleton" of the future site, on which all the elements will be placed as the site is developed. Symfony was developed by a French Web agency, SensioLabs. First named Sensio Framework and designed to be used only for the agency's projects, it was then shared with the developer community and took the name Symfony (in order to keep the initials "SF" for "Sensio Framework"). Symfony is now at version 4 and uses PHP in its latest version, version 7. Symfony is used by a large number of Web applications, some of which are very well known in the development community such as Drupal, Joomla, phpBB or PrestaShop.
DIFFÉRENCES ENTRE UN CMS ET UN FRAMEWORK
De nombreux sites Web sont développés à l’aide d’un CMS (Content Management System). Un CMS est un outil permettant de gérer le contenu du site : il propose notamment une interface dédiée, le back office, dont va se servir le Webmaster pour alimenter le site.
Si le CMS est la solution la plus simple pour créer un site, il trouve ses limites lorsque l’on veut accéder à des fonctions ou à une personnalisation plus avancée.
Le framework, lui, est hautement personnalisable et est ainsi capable de coller aux moindres désirs du client. En revanche, il demande un plus grand temps de développement, car, contrairement au CMS, « tout est à construire ».
Néanmoins, Symfony propose de nombreux « bundles » (ou « bibliothèques ») afin de faciliter le développement des différentes fonctionnalités. C’est d’ailleurs là l’une des principales qualités de ce framework, comme nous allons le voir dans la suite de cet article.
Pourquoi utiliser Symfony dans un projet web
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A CMS AND A FRAMEWORK
Many websites are developed using a CMS (Content Management System). A CMS is a tool for managing the content of the site: it offers a dedicated interface, the back office, which the Webmaster will use to feed the site.
If the CMS is the simplest solution to create a site, it finds its limits when you want to access functions or more advanced customization.
The framework, on the other hand, is highly customizable and is therefore able to meet the client's every wish. On the other hand, it requires more development time because, unlike the CMS, "everything has to be built".
Nevertheless, Symfony offers many "bundles" (or "libraries") in order to facilitate the development of the different functionalities. This is one of the main qualities of this framework, as we will see in the rest of this article.
Why using Symfony in a web project?
A large community
The Symfony community counts hundreds of thousands of developers who are constantly programming new features for the framework. These features are constantly tested in order to eliminate as many bugs as possible and thus offer a very high level of reliability.
This very active community is really one of the strong points of Symfony. Even if at the beginning the development of the framework was done in France, the community has spread all over the world.
Symfony, a scalable framework
Symfony is constantly evolving: SensioLabs, far from resting on its laurels, strives to regularly develop new versions that are always more complete and efficient. Symfony is now in its fourth version.
Over the last few years, the emphasis has been placed on simplicity of implementation, stability as well as on the respect of good web development practices.
The respect of good practices
Symfony encourages developers to respect certain rules when programming new features in order to guarantee their stability and scalability. The product code must be easily readable and respect commonly used standards.
The respect of good practices
Symfony encourages developers to respect certain rules when programming new features in order to guarantee their stability and scalability. The product code must be easily readable and respect commonly used standards.
Conclusion
We hope that this little overview of the Symfony framework will have been useful and will have given you a clear idea of the advantages and drawbacks of this solution.
Symfony's specialized teams of NG-STARs will help you to create your website thanks to its specialized Symfony teams.
Our web agency is able to meet all your needs and develop a real digital strategy.
Do not hesitate to contact us.
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