PHP is a server side scripting language that is extensively to create dynamic web pages by embedding the PHP code into the HTML source document. PHP can be used as a processor and also as a standalone interpreter on most platforms and operating systems. The Indian IT industry is well conversant with PHP development and has effectively used to create a range of unique and innovative web applications. Gradually over the years, PHP developers world wide have contributed to the PHP open source platform which enabled the formation of popular PHP frameworks.

PHP vs .NET

PHP and .Net are the two most popular languages used to create web applications and facilitate development of even some of the most complex websites. Some of the major differences between both these popular languages include:

1. PHP is a language and comprises of a platform-independent engine while asp.net is not a language and as a technology it is part of the .Net framework.

2. PHP does not follow the OOP paradigm and support only partial encapsulation while ASP.NET is completely built on OOP paradigm and follows the concepts stringently.

3. PHP is free and an open source and has IDEs that are well supported. ASP offers the Visual Studio .Net IDE that provides a range of innovative features.

List the latest Frameworks and Tools for PHP Development

PHP developers have always used the latest PHP frameworks and tools to be able to ease the process of PHP development and create applications much more easily and conveniently. Some of the most popular PHP frameworks for PHP development include:

Zend framework (ZF): Zend Framework 1.10.8 has a number of components that fulfill most of the PHP developer needs for smooth creation of PHP development programs. All the components involved in Zend development are completely object oriented and supports multiple database systems and vendors.

Drupal: Drupal 5.6 is a free open source software package that allows PHP developers to easily create, manage and organize all kinds of web portals, e-commerce applications, resource directories, social networking sites etc.

Joomla: Joomla version 1.6 is a content management system that provides PHP developers a platform to easily create and manage complicated web sites, portals and intranet sites. Joomla is written in PHP and offers a host of features such as page caching, RSS feeds, blogs, polls, news flashes and support for language internalization.

OS Commerce: This is an online-store management software program and any web server with PHP and My SQL can easily use this program. The latest version of OS 2.2 is completely compatible with PHP 4 and My SQL version 5.

Symphony Framework: Symphony version 2.0 offers a mix of third party libraries and web development practices. It is a full stack framework that provides tools and components to create complicated web applications easily.

Benefits of frameworks and tools for php developers There are a number of benefits that largely contribute to PHP development and help the PHP developers to create effective applications. Most of the frameworks help in optimizing the coding tool pattern and even facilitate easy process of PHP development. Since the frameworks already incorporate inbuilt core libraries therefore it makes coding that much easy and hassle free. PHP developers definitely have an edge when using these frameworks to their advantage as they are even considered to be more secure.