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Symfony is another framework that saves developer time and effort by minimizing the need to rewrite code, greatly reducing the possibility of any mistakes with core functionality. Although many frameworks are created with development efficiency in mind, what makes Symfony unique is the average standard of projects it’s designed to deal with. Symfony tackles enterprise level projects, where code has the potential to become immensely confusing. Efficient coding is paramount and in the development process, the bigger or more complex a project is, the more meaningful such a framework becomes!

Coding efficiency is only one aspect that’s influenced its popularity. Read below to discover what makes Symphony stand out!

1. Performance Optimization

Performance is obviously a huge part of any website or application. If an app cannot function properly, quickly, or consistently enough then nobody will want to use it. Such apps are the result of a naive approach towards optimization, where an apps performance can be optimized during the later stages of development. With Symfony, performance is emphasised throughout the entire development process. This is can help it be more cost effective, as backtracking can become tedious.

1. Comfort

Like any job, not every aspect of a developers job is going entertaining or seem meaningful. Thankfully, Symfony minimizes the amount of dregs and minor functionality annoyances that end up consuming a lot of time. Allowing developers to focus on the most purposeful parts of a project, making their role a lot more enjoyable, which is reflected in the quality of the end product. This comfort is encouraged through Symfony’s Web Debug Toolbar, in depth error reporting, native security, and support.

1. Project Flexibility

Symfony can take on different project requirements in three different ways.

1. Full Stack - creating an elaborate website or app in all of its glory.
2. Selective - only using the features a project requires, the rest of the frameworks components are not required.
3. Microframework - used when a new and specific functionality is required for a project. This saves the effort of redeveloping the rest of the project and installing the entire framework.

1. Maturity

Symfony is a very mature framework and has been around a lot longer than other frameworks such as Laravel or CodeIgniter. Symfony was released in 2005, which stands as a testament to its ability to be a long lasting framework that provides unique advantages over other frameworks. Even though Symfony is very powerful, it has still remained very accessible: thoughtful documentation, release/update clarity, community investment, and outstanding support from Symfony itself have led to some of the best development practices behind any modern framework.

1. Community

As stated earlier, Symfony is one of the older frameworks one will come across. Since 2005 it has slowly gained a large community that is active and well informed. This is essential as Symfony has a slightly steep learning curve, which comes with the enterprise-level territory. Even though documentation is abundant and thorough, developers learning Symphony may still require the assistance of the surrounding community, which they are happy to provide. 

1. Easy Testing

Unit testing, functional testing, and acceptance testing are all made easy with Symfony. The PHPUnit Independent Library speeds up the process by reducing the amount of manual PHP code needed to unit test and prove expected outcomes. Symfony has plenty of other testing tools that reinforce one’s confidence by refactoring code, quickly resolving bugs, simplifying integration, and facilitating debugging.

Because Symfony is often involved with enterprise level projects, Symfony developers have to be well versed and comfortable with tackling complex tasks. Therefore, when one needs to hire a Symfony developer, they should take extra caution to make sure they hire someone who is up to the task. If looking right now, my first choice for Symfony developers is CodeClouds. They are a global development company who only employ highly specialized developers for their services, and that niche approach to service providing is why I recommend them. Your other option is to look for a freelancer on sites like Upwork, but quality can often fluctuate greatly, so do so at your own risk and interview potential candidates very thoroughly!

Symfony has become one of the most popular PHP frameworks in part due to the reasons listed above. If you’re considering using the framework yourself, remember that it best aligns with enterprise level, large scale projects.