PHP & Web Development Blogs

PHP, by all means, is an immensely powerful language!



We may fall short of words, but there won't come any end to its qualities. The endless functionalities and possibilities of this server-side scripting language have managed to get it a strong and supportive community of PHP programmers on a global level. At present, PHP powers more than half on websites and applications on the internet.


Do you know what makes PHP so praiseworthy?



It is the simplicity, easy programming structure, and developer-friendly web functionalities that are to be credited to turn PHP into one of the top programming languages. You can create highly interactive and dynamic websites and applications with desired results by making use of PHP.



However, coding often could be a tough and tedious task to accomplish. As a solution to this, you get built-in PHP libraries that optimize the process of coding for maximum productivity.

But what are these libraries?

That's exactly what you will find out as you move ahead in this article, a list of top 12 PHP libraries capable of leading the development process in an intended manner.



So, without waiting any further, let's move ahead to learn about PHP libraries in-depth.

PChart

PChart is a PHP library assisting with the generation of text data in the form of something more appealing to the eyes and known as visual charts.



You can use this library to represent data as bar charts, pie charts, and many more different formats. The PHP script here utilizes SQL queries to put data in the impressive charts or graphs form.

Mink

Another well-known in the list of PHP libraries is Mink. It allows you to keep an eye on if a proper interaction is happening between your web apps and the browser. Eliminating the API differences between the two types of browser emulators, Mink offers an authentic testing environment for you. It also supports PHPUnit, Behat, and Symfony2.

Monolog

Monolog is a PHP logging library that helps you with saving logs to the specified locations by sending them to set files, sockets, inboxes, databases, or other web services. The use of the PSR-3 interface permits to type-hint logs in counter to your libraries that maintain optimum interoperability.

Hoa

This modular, extensible, and structured set of PHP libraries we know as Hoa establishes a link between the research and the industry.



It recommends essential paradigms, mechanisms, and algorithms for building the reliability of a site. Many PHP developers in different parts of the world use Hoa for ideal PHP development.

Guzzle

Guzzle is an HTTP client library for PHP that enables you to send HTTP requests to combine with web services.



It offers a simple interface that makes the development of query strings, POST requests, HTTP cookies, and many other attributes possible. You can also use Guzzle to send synchronous and asynchronous requests from the similar interface.

Ratchet

If your need is to develop real-time, two-directional apps between clients and servers over WebSockets, Ratchet is the PHP library you need to do it effectively.



Creating event-driven apps with Ratchet is a rapid, simple, and easy job to do!

Geocoder

Geocoder is a library to create applications that are very well geo-aware.



With Geocoder, there is an abstraction layer that helps with geocoding manipulations.



It is further split into two parts, known as HttpAdapter and Provider.

ImageWorkshop

ImageWorkshop is an open-source PHP library letting you work over the manipulation of images with layers. You can crop, resize, add watermarks, create thumbnails, and so much more. You can also enhance the images on the sites.

PhpThumb

phpThumb is the library specialized at handling the work associated with creating thumbnails with minimal coding. Accepting every image source type and image formats, it makes you do a lot ranging from rotating or cropping to watermarking or defining the image quality.

Parody

This simple library we know as Parody is used to copy classes and objects. It also provides results for method calls, acquiring properties, instantiating objects, and more. Sequential method chaining is used by Parody to produce defining class structures.

Imagine

This object-oriented PHP library is meant for working with images along with manipulating them. The often adopted operations such as resizing, cropping, and applying filters happen instantly and relatively well with Imagine.



With Imagine, you get a color class that forms the RGB values of any given color. Draw shapes like arc, ellipse, line, etc. with the features available.

PhpFastCache

PhpFastCache is an open-source PHP library that makes caching feasible. Coming as a single-file, it can be integrated within a matter of minutes.



Caching methods supported by PhpFastCache involve apc, memcache, memcached, wincache, pdo, and mpdo.


The Bottom Line




It's not about what extra difference these libraries make; it's about what significant individual contributions these libraries make for a final desired PHP app or website.



A PHP programmer, too, agrees with these libraries' benefits.



It's your time now to try and believe!

People that visit your website face an invisible threat each time they log on. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to digital data breaches, and that can change the way your customers feel about you. But, although you cannot stop hackers from trying, there are things you can do as a business owner to make your website a safer experience for everyone. Keep reading for tips.

Mature digitally.

You may be ahead of the times when it comes to products and services, but, chances are, your website hasn't fully kept up. It's time to learn all you can about the internet and digital security. If you are already somewhat tech savvy, a PHP Security Course from Nomad PHP can help you better understand everything from cryptography to website error messages.

Adapting to today's digital environment means transforming your website to quickly and easily identify threats via machine learning and network monitoring. And, as Upwork explains, digital maturity not only keeps your website safe, but adopting this mindset can also increase your efficiency and accuracy by reducing human errors.

Understand the threats.

It is not enough to simply keep up with your website, you also have to understand the types of threats that are out there. You're likely familiar with ransomware and phishing, but, it's also a good idea to know how a website can get hacked. Your site's content management system and vulnerabilities within your operating system are all weak points that hackers can easily identify.

Insist on security measures.

When customers log into your website, they input their credentials. Each time they do so, you can best protect their information by keeping your systems up to date. You'll also want to ensure that your site is hosted on a secure service and that you have an SSL certificate installed.

If you are not already, have your IT department or managed IT services perform regular website security checks. PhoenixNAP, an IT services provider, notes that those websites working via WordPress should also be safely outfitted with the most recent security plug-ins.

Eliminate spam.

If your website allows for comments that are not manually approved, anyone on the internet can post. This leaves it open for hackers and other unscrupulous individuals to comment with spam and malicious links that your customers may inadvertently click on. While many of these simply exist as a way for the commenter to drive traffic to another website, others are designed to draw your readers' attention, gain their trust, and access their personal information.

Prioritize passwords.

Your customers' passwords are the keys by which they open the door to your website. Unfortunately, many people do not treat them with as much care as they do the keys they use in the non-digital world.

It's true, passwords can be a pain, but you are not doing yourself or your customers any favors by allowing simple one-word passcodes to access your site. Instead, design your site to require a strong password. How-To Geek asserts that this will have a minimum of 12 characters and include a combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols, and numbers.

While you will likely rely on your IT experts to secure your website, the truth is that it is ultimately up to you to ensure this is done. So even if you are not a digital mastermind, knowing all you can about web security can help you be a better business owner. Your customers will be safer, and a secure website is just one way to strengthen your business's online presence and keep up with today's -- and tomorrow's -- technology.