Albert Ispiryan of CodeRiders Clarifies the Importance of PHP in Web Applications

- As with any other programming language PHP is also a toolkit, so both its power and errors are highly dependable on the software developer. Let me talk about the main advantages of PHP development:

● PHP is easily adaptable: It is very simple and with its dynamic typing it’s relatively easy for a new software developer to carry on the work of a previous one.

● PHP is very portable: You can easily ship PHP in any other web application. For example, PHP Desktop, EasyPHP, Wamp, etc.

● PHP generates secure web pages: PHP frameworks, built-in features and tools accelerate the web application protection process from security threads. 

● PHP communicates with databases: PHP interacts with databases to store all the information provided by the users as well as redeem the information that is displayed to the user.

● PHP has a huge number of frameworks: Perhaps the most highly used PHP frameworks are Laravel and Symphony. However, this doesn't mean that PHP is limited to only these two. PHP owns a big number of frameworks starting from Micro to full-fledged ones. This variety of selection ultimately brings up the opportunity for a faster development process.

● PHP supports procedural as well as object-oriented programming.

● PHP runs on all the most popular operating systems such as OS X, Linux, Microsoft Windows, such web servers as Apache, Nginx, GWS, and more.

These are just some examples. However, there are so many more exciting facts and opportunities about PHP development. If anyone’s interested in learning more, we encourage them all to let us know. I'm among those software developers that enjoy talking about their experience in web applications, software solutions, and web development services.

- I have heard some people say PHP is a dying language. What can you say about this?

- Yes, I've heard such conversations not only about PHP but other languages as well. However, you can't support this claim about PHP. A huge percentage of today’s web applications (I would say 80% or so) is based on custom PHP applications, PHP frameworks, and WordPress. PHP has such a huge volume on the web, that even if it dies right now, the support of all those huge websites’ that are written in PHP will ensure long-time work. This same claim is said about Ruby on Rails. GitHub was essentially written in Ruby on Rails and is still based on this language. Anyway, each language has its purpose and it's not appropriate to allege such assertions.

- Please enumerate your most favorite projects with PHP development.

- As CodeRiders web development studio is well-known as a PHP development company, I don’t remember any period of our software service operation without PHP technology. I had several PHP-based projects that all helped me become more professional in my work. However, I’ll talk about 3 most important ones here:

1. PHP-based web application development for a marketing company

Technologies: Vue.js 2.6 for front-end, Laravel 5.8 for back-end

Industry: Marketing and advertising

Country: China

I worked with a Chinese marketing agency. They concentrated on analyzing data collected from electronic billboard cameras. The company would put, for example, a 30-second advertisement on the electronic screen of these billboards and the goal was to collect information about the viewers for further marketing analysis and classification of the potential clients based on this information. The cameras detected and made screenshots of the viewers’ faces every one second then collected a database about their gender, age, the duration of viewing the advertisement, face expressions, etc. Later on, the data was processed into another system using Golang, and was inserted into a PHP-based application I was working on. PHP technology was used as a web application for Administrative Data Analysis. The system allowed thorough insights, diagrams, graphics similar to Google analytics, as well as some popular management tools. The data on geo-location was handled by the Laravel framework. I was the only developer from our software development company that was working on this PHP/Laravel based project, and this is one of the projects I am proud. 

2. Online platform for landlords and tenants

Technologies: Laravel 5.8 for back-end, Vue.js for front-end

Industry: Real Estate/Franchising

Country: The South African Republic

We were creating an online platform and web application for landlords and tenants. The core value of this project was to facilitate communication between the two parties. So, both the landlords and tenants could sign up on the platform and insert pictures and information about their facilities. On the other hand, tenants would be able to search for the appropriate facility/unit, get in contact with the landlords, make the deal and sign in an online document. We also built a database system and admin panel for the company to manage and analyze the inserted information, offer support, and manage the website. Our web development studio later expanded its co-operation with this company and built another similar platform for franchisors and franchisees. This time, the only purpose was to create an “online paperwork” platform for the two parties.

3. Online platform for franchisors and franchisees

Technologies: Laravel 5.8 for back-end, Vue.js for front-end

Industry: Real Estate/Franchising

Country: Denmark

My 3^rd biggest project was also very similar to the previous one and again was based on PHP/Laravel, Vue.js technologies. The clients were from Denmark and their company was operating in the Real Estate industry.

In both cases, I significantly improved my skills in the Real Estate web application development services as well as became more professional in business communication. I’m giving just a very short description. I believe our business development team would tell more details about those projects. 

- Will you remember some problems that you faced during the software development process with these clients?

- In general, I don't remember any serious problems that I faced during these projects. Moreover, fortunately, everything went very smoothly. Although I was the only dedicated software developer from CodeRiders working on these projects, I was still a part of a custom software development outsourcing company. This highly differs from being a freelancer. I have a CTO, and our software outsourcing team is constantly under the management of our CTO. He's aware of any issues that occur, knows exactly what we're doing, and goes over our work every day. So, if there even occurs any problem, we solve it within our team, and the client isn’t disturbed by every slight issue. I think this is also one of the reasons that many organizations prefer working with software development outsourcing companies rather than with freelance software developers. They are more confident about the quality of software services and literate business communication.

- What industry sites and blogs do you read regularly?

- Well, I very much gain new experiences and advance my skills by putting my knowledge into practice. However, of course, I need to keep an eye on all the news and innovations when it comes to my profession. One of my most favorite sources is Laravel News. Here you can find the latest news and updates about PHP/Laravel development, the IT industry in general, read articles that explain everything from A to Z.

- Which technologies are you the most interested in learning in the future?

- Python is becoming more and more popular these days. I’m very much interested in it. If we compare PHP with Python, here are some interesting facts.

PHP works the best if used for its primary function, which is writing a web application. You don’t write, for example, a mobile application in PHP. So, if you ever have had a bad experience with PHP, first of all, ask yourself “What did I build with this language?”. On the other hand, if you need multiple web/mobile applications or custom software solutions, it's more appropriate to use Python, which has a wider field of usage. Python is also being used in big data analysis, machine learning, AI, etc. You may ask me a question here, “Then why should I use PHP in the first place when there is another technology which is used for multiple purposes?”. Well, it’s about comfort. PHP isn't a typed language; you’ll meet fewer barriers while working with PHP. Plus, it is faster both for users and developers. Recently, PHP 8 JIT Compiler has been released which gives a powerful speed boost.

- To sum up the interview, what makes you stay at CodeRiders software development company?

- Definitely, team spirit and my friends. For me, it's very important to feel at home when working. After all, we spend most of our time at the workplace, so feeling the support of my colleagues and friends is the most essential reason that I'm with CodeRiders. 

To learn more about CodeRiders services or solutions we recommend getting in touch with our business development team by sending your inquiry to us.