What is it?

CakePHP is an open source Web application framework written in PHP and distributed under the MIT License. CakePHP started in 2005. It is a rapid development framework for PHP that provides an extensible architecture for developing, maintaining, and deploying applications. CakePHP is currently in development by the Cake Software Foundation, with Larry E. Masters as the remaining original author and lead developer. CakePHP is developed by a community of people from different countries all over the world joined together to create the CakePHP framework for the benefit of the widest audience possible.

Who is it for?

CakePHP enables PHP users at all levels to rapidly develop robust Web applications It is intended to reduce development costs and help developers and programmers write less code. The framework can be used by everyone from startups to non-profits to enterprise organizations, but the main intended audience is Web developers. It is ideal for many types of Web applications, including eCommerce, content management, and statistics. CakePHP is free to be used in any way. It is an Open Source project, giving users full access to the source code.

Features

CakePHP makes it easier for the user to interface with the database with active records. It also encourages use of the model-view-controller architectural pattern. It is compatible with PHP4 and PHP5. It offers integrated CRUD for database and simplified querying, a request dispatcher with custom URLs, templating, and view helpers for AJAX, Javascript, and HTML forms. It is Web site directory independent with built-in validation, access control lists, application scaffolding, data sanitization, security, session, and request handling components, and view caching. Additional basic features include code generation via Bake, simple yet extensive validation of model data, a router for mapping URLs and handling extensions, and utility classes for working with files, folders, and arrays. Cake also offers internationalization and localization with static translations in gettext style or dynamic translations of model data, a full console environment with support for multiple tasks, CSRF protection and HTTP authentication via a security component, and flexible caching using memcache, apc, xcache, the file system, or a model to speed up the application.

Compatibility

CakePHP is compatible with multiple operating systems. It requires an HTTP server such as Apache with mod_rewrite, which is preferred but not required, and PHP 4.3.2 or greater. Technically a database engine isn’t required, but most applications will utilize one. CakePHP supports a variety of database storage engines including MySQL 4 or greater, PostgreSQL, Firebird DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, SQLite, ODBC and ADOdb.

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