The market for PHP in 2015. Is it going to grow?

2015 the cyber year: Industry experts have already predicted that 2015 is going to be even bigger success for the web industry. There are more websites, web accesses is expected this year. To make the things even faster and smoother, new generation computer devices are going to play an important role. Devices like smart phones and tablets will reach to every hand in developing countries and that will trigger the growth of web industry to an exponential rate. Hence we can expect an overwhelming response for the web developers in the industry this year. Here we can’t ignore the vital role of PHP in the web development process and hence the importance of PHP developers in the growth of web industry.

PHPStorm 8 - Is it the most intelligent PHP IDE

Why IDE? IDE stands for “Integrated Development Environment”. From its name, we can understand what it is for? IDE is the interface on which a developer writes his code for any application in different languages. Usually IDE are language specific like there are some IDE for PHP, some IDE for java and so on. There are many IDE available in the industry. Most of them have similar functionality with some special features within them that make them unique from others. All these IDEs are developed to provide assistance during the coding process for the developer. Few common features of IDE are code assistance, indentation and framework compatibility etc. PHPStorm 8 is one such IDE for the PHP developers. It has gained an overwhelming response from around the industry due to its extra-ordinary efficiency and effectiveness. Let us discuss about some of the advanced features of PHPStorm8.

PHP for Your Small Business Website - Why Is It Good?

PHP has gained immense popularity of late. Particularly, when it comes to designing as well as developing websites for small scale businesses, this multipurpose scripting language is extremely adored. This popularity of PHP, amongst the small business runners can very well be attributed to certain properties that the language comes up with – more so, because these properties make PHP the fittest to be used by the small scale businesses that cannot afford to invest much.

Few PHP Aspects that Enable Project Development

A developer has option to use PHP as a server-side scripting language or a general-purpose programming language. But many programmers prefer using the programming language for web application development, as PHP code can be seamlessly integrated with HTML code. Further, PHP code can also be integrated with a variety of frameworks and templating engines. There are also several aspects of PHP that makes it easier for businesses to create complex web applications on time and on budget.

Important Aspects of PHP that Optimize Project Development

Cross Platform: As an open source technology, PHP helps many enterprises in keeping project costs under control. But the compatibility of the language across multiple platforms, make it operate smoothly across many widely used operating systems. PHP runs smoothly on Windows, Linux and UNIX, while interfacing with MySQL or Apache effectively. Thus, developers can start using PHP without switching to a new platform.

LAMP Stack: Nowadays, a web application needs to serve a large number of user requests at a time. Also, it has to deliver richer user experience with no downtime. That is why; developers use LAMP stack to optimize its performance by combining components from various technologies. LAMP is an acronym for a set of components bundled together, including Linux, Apache HTTP Server, MySQL and PHP. The programmers have option to integrate LAMP stack with a variety of open source technologies to create dynamic web pages by combining component from several technologies.

Easy to Embed: While developing web applications, programmers find it a daunting challenge to embed code written in a specific programming language into HTML. But PHP code can be embedded into HTML without putting any extra effort. Thus, it becomes easier for developers to convert conventional or static websites into dynamic and interactive ones without writing lengthy and complex code.

Rapid Development: With more and more companies investing in web application development, it has become essential for a business to launch the application as early as possible. The PHP frameworks enable programmers to build complex and large applications without writing lengthy code. The feature further ensures quick turnaround time for business to beat competition.

Pre-Configured Setup: As PHP is compatible with widely used operating systems, it becomes easier for business to host their websites. Many hosting service providers even offer ready to use PHP setup to help businesses in hosting their websites in a hassle-free way. This aspect of PHP enables programmers to modify existing websites to enhance their security and performance.

Extremely Scalable Extensions: PHP also help businesses in calculate ROI on a product through a set of extremely scalable extensions. As the result can be measured accurately, it becomes easier for business to hire the right PHP developer. Also, a business can implement a strategy to reduced the overall development time and cost.

Easy to Learn: Often enterprises find it difficult to hire experienced web application developers for their projects. But an enterprise can easily hire the developers to accomplish stability, flexibility and speed. As PHP is a hugely popular programming language, the novice programmers can learn it by referring to the guidelines and references available on the net. Also, they can avail the online library support to avoid getting stuck somewhere during the coding phase.

PHP Cloud Hosting: A gradual increase is also noted in the number of enterprises switching to PHP-based cloud hosting to avail a number of benefits. In addition to being highly flexible and scalable, PHP cloud hosting can be further customized by engineers according to the specific needs of a business. Further, LAMP stack can be hosted on the cloud without investing a lot of money. Thus, a business can consider switching to PHP cloud hosting to upscale and downscale its website according to the size of the traffic.

However, it is always important for businesses to opt for the most recent version of PHP. They can further use several PHP frameworks to build complex application within a shorter span of time.

You can hire developers from top php web development companies in india who can help you build web application within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php development services. If you would like to hire certified php programmer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why Is PHP A Better Option For Web Design?

When it comes to web designing, PHP is one of the most favored tools owing to a number of reasons. PHP comes up with certain unique features that make it one of the most adored, preferred as well as appropriate options for the purpose of web designing. The language itself thus, has made PHP developers highly sought-after professionals in the fraternity of web development as well as designing companies. Let us discuss the efficacy of PHP as a web designing tool.

First of all, PHP development does not take much of a time when compared with other tools as the language requires a much lesser number of coding, thus making the task less tedious. The language also proves to be extremely useful as well as effective, especially when it comes to CMSs like WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and so on, which are of late so much popular among the customers.

There is stiff competition out there in the market in the world of website designing or development, especially with so many companies joining the bandwagon. Hence, in order to survive this rigid competition and to make things in a bit different way, companies are coming up with sites that are not only visually appealing but SEO friendly as well. This is to make sure that these sites help in bringing more and more business leads along with greater revenue. Here is where PHO scores over other languages. The language is astoundingly compatible with SEO when compared to other designing methods or languages.

The language is designed to seamlessly integrate as well as coordinate with various visible applications and this is a very pertinent dynamics, especially taking into view today’s business requirements. The language is also great when it comes to building its own memory, for an efficient and prompt use down the line.

PHP is also capable of working on a wide range of operating platforms as well as environments, including the MS Window, Linux, etc. and this makes the language extremely desirable in today’s context.

You will be able to find a fairly large community of PHP supporters as well as discussion groups and these groups help in solving issues whenever they crop up. The issues these groups sort out include bugs, problems with codes as well as information. All these increase the credibility of the language, making it a safe as well as a stable platform to use, especially for the beginners.

In PHP, you get a language that is designed specifically for the purpose of web designing with an inbuilt integration option with one of the most popular open source MySQL database. PHP has the following unique features that make the language, such an indomitable web designing language:

It is easy for the beginners:
PHP is the most ideal language for the beginners, who will just have to add some tags with the already existing HTML files, and follow it up by uploading them to the server and see the end results. Besides, the dynamic typing and the associative arrays make the language easier for the beginners.

It is user friendly
When compared to other solutions, there is no need of compilation in PHP. Hence, all that is needed is writing the script and uploading the script to the server and then updating the browser.

Besides, PHP comes up with an integrated support for databases of MySQL and that makes it easier to use the database with MySQL functions with no need to install additional drivers. Since it is a much older language, there are a number of web-oriented frameworks as well libraries available. Also, since it has been round the corner for such a long period (since as early as 1995), it performs seamlessly on Linux as well as Windows along with a wide range of other web servers. Also, when it comes to finding hosting with pre-installed PHP, there is no problem.

You can hire developers from top php web development companies in India who can help you build web application within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php application development services. If you would like to hire php programmer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Tips to keep your PHP code well documented

Right now, PHP can be considered as the most popular language in the world of web development. Some sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, etc as well as some of the biggest open source projects of the world, like Drupal and WordPress, use this language. In this language, there are no fixed rules as such; the content can be almost anything but the actual codes as well as tags are most important. Due to its permissive nature, common mistakes may be made, which may pose problems in the behavior of the program. The key here, is to make the codes clean, easy readable as well as well documented. So, here are some tips which will make sure that the ultimate code turns out to be perfectly documented and functional.

Naming of classes, functions along with variables- The code pieces can be named in whichever way you want. This factor should be used to your full advantage so that the code is kept understandable. Always make sure that clear names are chosen instead of making up strange abbreviations or using names which may be ambiguous. There is no need for you to be scared of making typos when using longer names; as it is you will be warned by your IDE about inconsistencies like unused variables in the code. Proper naming will surely help you figure out whatever goes on in the code.

Method visibility- Method visibility is another concept worth noting. If you want to write an object-oriented code that is high in quality then the class methods should be assigned with proper visibility. This helps show the code representing the part of logic which should be inside the class; this must not be exposed to the other classes that are there in application. It also exposes some class methods for public access, which helps us call from outside the specific class, so that communication with other application parts may be maintained. Codes including properly-set method visibility, aid other developers to quickly find out the working method of the class developed by you. Anybody will be able to figure out the few public methods that can be referred to in the code. The logic that private class methods handle and which should not be touched, is also noticed easily. Again, your IDE interprets such hints. The editor used by you, in all probability, will be able to show you class methods enlisted as well as their visibility.

Type hinting- Interface/ class names or callable/ array keywords may be put next to function parameter. This restricts the making of wrong function call. However, anyone who reads the code will be able to use it as important information. The function body does not have to be examined to know about calling of the function.

Importance of comments- If a complex script is developed but there are no comments, an error might come up when someone wants to reuse it some time after. In this case, it will take a huge amount of time to fix the problem since just trying to understand the code it will turn out to be a time-consuming task. Here comments can help since they are not only extended but almost all developers understand them. All docs can be seen at conclusion but there will be some specific special parameters that will start with @. During this format, a tool may be used so that the documentation may be exported as a html, pdf or another file even from IDE that is been currently used. Comments act as additional explanation which helps people know whatever is going on.

Over-commenting the code- The code should be properly documented through comments in the scripts but there is no need for commenting in each single line. The source code's complicated parts should have comments so that they may be revisited later to remember everything but the simple things like MySQL connection should not have comments. Most times, good codes are self-explanatory.

Apart from these tips, inserting custom text in doc block will also help by serving as function or class documentation. This will be a good option, if documentation for the project has to be made available from outside the code. So, be patient and incorporate these tips which will help you become better developer with time.

You can hire developers from top custom php development companies in India who can help you build products within allocated budgets and time schedules.

We provide php web development services. If you would like hire php developers from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

How Outsourcing PHP Developers Will Save Time and Value?

Considering all the different categories of marketing techniques, internet technology is taking the population towards a magnanimous growth which has not been realized by any other form of marketing. Leveraging online resources for establishment of businesses proves immensely beneficial to owners as well as users. For instance, there are a number of websites which have been developed to render an exceptional shopping experience with a user friendly viewpoint. Present day business websites need to get revamped as well as republished to keep in line with the latest internet trends and technologies. With respect to this, an informative, appealing web design which is done across PHP or HTML platforms is appropriate for profit generation through a strong online presence.

Importance

PHP is among the most sought after scripting languages which a majority of website developers prefer to adopt. With the help of this programming language, the navigation and layout part of the sites can be quite effectively augmented. If you are looking for a web page layout that is dynamic, then PHP remains a very good choice. For the creation of custom web design solutions, almost every programmer prefers to make use of this scripting language. This language consists of user friendly applications, techniques as well as formats; it is convenient for programmers to leverage the applications in an effortless manner.

Benefits

In order to go for efficient web design, PHP, Java and ASP.NET are regarded as appropriate and important programming languages. With regards to the use of PHP, there are some specific benefits such as the following:

• Usability: With the help of this programming language, the programmer is able to experience exceptional usability as well as come up with professional web design solutions.
• Quick data processing: When a programmer is working with PHP, it enables him or her to process data in a rapid manner.
• Appropriately matched: This language is very good at getting along with well-accepted operating systems such as UNIX, Windows, and so on.
• Compatible: One of the striking advantages of making use of PHP programming language is the adaptability towards the HTML version.
• Cost: PHP development services are quite affordable and can be conveniently availed.

The growth of PHP

So far as PHP programmers are concerned, the demand is always experiencing a rise. The convenience and adaptability of this programming language enables the programmers to come up with custom web designs for the website requirements of their clients. Owing to this, expert programmers are largely acclaimed across the globe. So, a number of companies look forward to outsource developers from other countries. India is one of the most recognized countries in the domain of software as well as programming languages. The educational system and infrastructure of this country has been laying considerable focus on the significance of computer education. The scope for expansion in the field of knowledge enhancement in computer programming languages and software is growing at an equal rate. As a consequence of this, it has indeed become very convenient to outsource developers from this country. In addition to this, PHP services come at a very cost-effective rate in India. Considering these factors, outsourcing developers with lead to unique results and would also bring down the cost of formation of a development infrastructure comprising expert professionals.

Along with the other benefits, outsourcing PHP application development services go a long way in saving considerable amount of time with respect to the development of the website. Hence, more focus can be directed towards the different other marketing areas of the services. A team of professional developers can be hired from India in order to render the website development process convenient and swift.

We provide php web development services. If you would like to speak to a certified php developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

8 Rocking Tips for Scaling PHP to 25000 Concurrent Users Per Server

Scalability is the ability of a system, network or process to get enlarged or handle huge amounts of work in an effective manner. Web platforms or languages like PHP become scalable when it manages growing traffic with additional resources and without any software changes.

With the growing preference for PHP as the language used in web development, it would be rather necessary to look into few tips on scaling PHP to allow it serve large numbers of concurrent users per server. Things as these below would exponentially increase confidence in php development.

1. Clustering the Web Servers

The very first step towards scaling PHP needs to be taken in the form of moving the database to a separate server, configuration syncing (rysync, rmp/deb, svn), deploying application code and ZSCM.

2. Using the APC Feature of PHP

Enabling the APC feature is an essential way of boosting the performance of any particular website. This feature, therefore, plays an important role in scaling PHP as well as enabling it serve huge number of users.

3. Placing Things which are not PHP Requests on a CDN

Gone are the days when one would be required to get stuck at the origin server with static file requests. Serving the static files from the web server is no longer a necessity. Instead, everything is put on S3 while CloudFront is used as the CDN. However, the recent problems in CloudFront often make it a more feasible option to serve directly from S3.

4. Avoiding Connection to Other Servers in the PHP Code

Other servers such as the database or memcache servers should not be connected to unless it is either a dire necessity or there is no other way. A clear majority of the PHP web apps use the MySQL database for managing the backend session and the memcache tool for caching. During the flow of the execution, connecting to other servers lowers the efficiency quotient. For instance, it blocks and runs up the CPU apart from holding up the line often. It is here that using the APC is more recommended for storing data in PHP.

5. Using Varnish

Varnish is actually the Memcache/ModRewrite of web server caching. A majority of the pages on the website do not change. Putting Varnish on the web server makes a huge difference to the web app and this is quite visible right at the time of load testing.

6. Using a c1.xlarge

Upgrading to a c1.xlarge version is a welcome option as the m1.medium has a single CPU to handle all the requests. The c1.xlarge version had 8 CPU’s and even during the app test, one would get an apt-get install nmon, run nmon and at the same time, monitor the CPU. The server actually uses all the 8 cores to churn out the pages.

7. Using the Right Techniques

Whenever it comes to scaling PHP, the appropriate techniques must be implemented for the best results. These techniques include replication, functional separation as well as sharding. Other ways in which the scaling can be done effectively encompass using of schemaless databases such as MongoDB. Considering a column-oriented database like Infobright is more preferred for the analytics.

8. Optimizing Applications with the Desired Tools

Application optimization is intricately linked to the scaling of PHP and selecting the right tools is necessary for this. The tools that are generally used are Xdebug, Zend Server Code tracing and Profiling. Other efficient ways of optimization are monitoring the execution time, memory usage, designing intelligently and being aware of the respective hardware and its operation. The higher the knowledge, the better is the app created.

Once the scaling is carried out using the above- mentioned tips and techniques, the effectiveness of the app can be judged. Google Analytics helps in showing the numbers of seconds an average user spends on an average page.

We provide php application development services. If you would like to discuss with an certified php developer from our team, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.

Why do we use frameworks in PHP development?

It helps a lot to understand why we use frameworks in PHP development before zeroing in on a particular framework. A PHP Framework forms the basis of the platform that allows software developers to develop web applications. Hence it provides the detailed structure to develop an application.

The advantages of using a PHP Framework are manifold. First of all it helps save time. Secondly, it helps avoid the need to produce repetitive code, and thus helps the developer go for Rapid Application Development (RAD). Therefore one can always imagine how difficult it would be not to have a PHP Framework in place. These difficulties manifest while producing applications because the developer has to repeatedly code a lot of PHP. Notwithstanding the above fact, it also becomes imperative for the developer to execute the connection between his database and the application that he has been trying to develop from scratch. In these circumstances using a PHP framework makes custom PHP development easier by ensuring that this connection remains intact.

Essentially, PHP development is based on the Model View Controller (MVC) fundamentals which is an architectural pattern featured in a number of popular programming languages. The MVC architecture helps separate the domain logic from the user interface. Hence it is often quoted that, the key to understanding PHP Frameworks better comes through a thorough knowledge about the MVC architecture.

Although it may seem very convenient to pick up the most popular PHP framework in the market, it is also quite important not to get confused with what you need your framework to do and the features that are already bundled in the framework. Not every PHP Framework offers the same support for databases, communities, and an easy to follow user guide. At the same time if you are an end user company and you would like to build a content management system for your company using PHP, then you would obviously require some expert counsel from a professional PHP development company. When you are at this juncture of the software development phase then you can always approach Mindfire Solutions to address your PHP development needs. With over 10 years of custom PHP development experience along with deep expertise in the numerous PHP frameworks widely available in the market, Mindfire Solutions can be your ideal software development partner to help you from start to finish of your project. Not only will it help you decide judiciously on the framework to be used, it will undertake with utmost professionalism all the tasks that are essential towards the completion of the project.

Mindfire Solutions is a 12-year old leading Software Development and IT services company with a strong track record of working with SMBs like you who are present across geographies. Our 750+ spirited software engineers located across three advanced development centres in India have collectively executed more than 1000 projects for our 300+ client base. Along with a guaranteed Mindfire promise of unparalleled quality, we also have 100 hours risk free trial* for new clients.