The purpose of this thesis work is to learn a new PHP framework and use it efficiently to build an eCommerce web application for a small start-up freelancing company that will let potential customers check products by category and pass orders securely. To fulfil this set of requirements, a system consisting of a web application with a backend will be designed and implemented using a modern MVC framework.
It is worthwhile considering the use of a PHP framework when time is a limitation and the developer’s PHP coding skills do not match the high level demanded to build a complex application. Frameworks handle all the repetitive basic tasks of a PHP project, letting the developer concentrate her/his efforts on the business logic and the general structure of the project as a whole, in doing so, frameworks are becoming an ideal tool used by said developers to rapidly build complex operational prototypes in a matter of hours with minimal time spent on coding. Frameworks offer also whole range of ready-made utilities and libraries.
The use of a robust framework is recommended when the security of the web application is an essential requirement. It even becomes a necessity when the developer lacks the necessary know-how to prevent security breaches from happening. Most of the modern frameworks have built-in security features that range from input sanitizing to automatic cookie encryption.
Organized structure of the project as a whole, clear and clean code are required when working in an organization or co-developing an application in a team of developers. Frameworks permit the organization of said code into a logical architecture, thus facilitating its maintainability and expandability. To achieve this, modern PHP frameworks follow the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture pattern.
Among the highly popular PHP frameworks, Laravel stands out with its claim in its ability to produce a development process that is agreeable for the developer without losing the application’s functionality. That is one of the many reasons it was chosen as the framework of choice for building an eCommerce web application for Armel Solutions freelance start-up. This thesis work will study if Laravel lives up to its claim by evaluating its ability in building an up and running secure eCommerce web application in minimal time.
