What is CakePHP?

CakePHP is a development and open source framework for PHP. It allows the developers to code for web applications. It is a basic structure for building, deploying and maintaining web applications.

There are 3 things in this architecture –

1. Model

2. View

3. Controller

Model interacts with database; View manages the layout of a web page and design of a website and Controller controls the function of model and view by managing all commands from the users. This is called as MVC architecture.

You need following tools to use cakePHP –

1. Web Server – A web server like Apache is needed to run the web applications.
2. Database server – To create and manage a database, a database server like MySQL server is needed.
3. PHP knowledge – Basics of PHP should be known by you.
4. Knowledge of MVC pattern – You also need to have knowledge about programming pattern of MVC.

A large base is being provided by CakePHP framework for your web application. It allows extending and customizing applications according to you. This is very powerful and simple tool. Although CakePHP provides controller, view, models, but it also has additional objects, classes etc. features which are enjoyable by programmer or developer while programming in MVC pattern. It has classes, objects, behaviors of MVC base classes to be reused in sub classes. Thus CakePHP provides reusability and extensibility to developer or programmer to enjoy coding in CakePHP. CakePHP is compatible with PHP 4 and PHP 5. Built-in validation facility is available in this framework.