What is CodeIgniter and why should I use it?
Before I jump directly into describing what CodeIgniter is, let’s take a step back and look at how developers typically learn a new language. I found that people tend to go through some common stages as their skills grow and improve. The first stage is basic structure and syntax where a program can be written that goes from start to finish without any major failures. Next comes an understanding of the vocabulary and functionality of the language. There’s a lot less guesswork and more certainty about what can and cannot be done. Once they’re comfortable with that foundation, it can be expanded with knowledge of development techniques and relations of the language features. The final stage, excluding actually developing the language itself, contains scalable programming structures in architecture, including design patterns, libraries, knowledge of APIs, and so forth. This is where development speed comes into play. Rather than reinventing the wheel, a programmer can focus on building components that deliver value. I placed CodeIgniter at the final stage.
CodeIgniter is an open-source PHP web application framework that can be used for rapid development without the overhead of having to constantly build reusable components providing both a logical structure and a reusable interface to libraries written to perform common tasks, CodeIgniter provides a fast, extensible foundation for writing complex software. Some of the key features include a small footprint, meaning that it’s lightweight and has very little overhead, which tends itself to fast performance. Especially when it’s compared to other frameworks it’s also easy to get going, requiring least configuration to get started.
Originally released in 2006, CodeIgniter has reached an adoption rate and maturity that makes it a production-ready candidate for the basis of your next project. In 2008, PHP creator Rasmusleadoff praised CodeIgniter because it’s faster, lighter, and less like a framework. But why should I use somebody else’s work? Consider creating your framework. While nobody will prevent you from writing your programming framework, ask yourself, is this the best use of my time? Are you going to review your work with thousands of other developers? What is your bug-reporting process and testing methodology? What about security and penetration testing? Finally, do you want to have to build each piece of new functionality from scratch every time you want to do something new? I’m trying to get to three basic points. Why? Reusability and modularity where I’m avoiding copying and pasting code components can be reused with multiple projects leveraging a common interface. Next is maintainability, which is particularly important if you want others to be able to easily build upon or extend your application if they’re familiar with CodeIgniter and you’ve used recommended structures, they shouldn’t have any problems understanding your code. Finally, as delegation, you want to focus on delivering value, not creating building blocks for repetitive or common tasks that others have already completed.
