Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Composer VS SimpleSAMLphp

Compare Composer VS SimpleSAMLphp and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Composer logo Composer

Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP.

SimpleSAMLphp logo SimpleSAMLphp

SimpleSAMLphp is an OAuth authentication application written in native PHP.
  • Composer Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19
  • SimpleSAMLphp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-07

Composer features and specs

  • Dependency Management
    Composer allows for easy and efficient management of PHP dependencies, ensuring that the correct versions are used and conflicts are minimized.
  • Autoloading
    Composer supports autoloading, which means you don't have to manually include or require files, reducing boilerplate code.
  • Version Control
    It allows developers to specify and install the exact versions of the libraries they need, which helps in maintaining consistency across different environments.
  • Community Support
    Composer has a vast and active community, resulting in a plethora of libraries and packages readily available for use.
  • PSR Compliance
    Composer adheres to PHP-FIG PSR standards, promoting best practices and interoperability among PHP projects.
  • Custom Repositories
    Ability to use custom repositories allows for flexibility, enabling enterprises to create their own repository for internal use.

Possible disadvantages of Composer

  • Learning Curve
    Beginners may find Composer overwhelming due to its command-line interface and the complexity of managing dependencies.
  • Performance
    Installing or updating packages can sometimes be slow, particularly for projects with many dependencies.
  • Dependency Conflicts
    While Composer aims to minimize conflicts, complex projects can still face issues with dependency resolution that require manual intervention.
  • File Size
    Projects using Composer can lead to increased file sizes due to the inclusion of multiple libraries and their dependencies.
  • Security
    Including third-party packages can expose a project to potential security vulnerabilities if those packages are not well-maintained or audited.

SimpleSAMLphp features and specs

  • Interoperability
    SimpleSAMLphp offers broad compatibility with different identity providers and service providers, making it an ideal choice for implementing SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) solutions across diverse systems.
  • Extensibility
    The platform supports custom modules and extensions, allowing developers to enhance its functionality and tailor it to specific authentication or integration requirements.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source solution, SimpleSAMLphp allows organizations to implement and customize the software without licensing costs, fostering a collaborative improvement environment through user contributions.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    The software is well-documented, which facilitates easier implementation, configuration, and maintenance for administrators and developers.
  • Wide Adoption
    SimpleSAMLphp is widely adopted within the community, which means there is a wealth of community support and resources available for troubleshooting and best practice sharing.

Possible disadvantages of SimpleSAMLphp

  • Complex Configuration
    Setting up SimpleSAMLphp can be complex, particularly for users who are new to SAML or do not possess extensive experience with PHP, potentially leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Security Management
    Administrators must be diligent about applying security updates and configuring the system correctly, as improper setup could introduce vulnerabilities in the authentication process.
  • Performance Overheads
    The software can introduce performance overheads, especially in high-traffic environments, necessitating careful consideration of system resources and optimization practices.
  • Limited Protocol Support
    While it excels at SAML, SimpleSAMLphp has limited support for other authentication protocols such as OpenID Connect or OAuth2, which might be a limitation for some use cases.
  • PHP Dependence
    Being PHP-dependent, the platform may face limitations related to PHP's scalability and performance in large-scale enterprise environments, compared to other languages.

Analysis of Composer

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Composer is considered an essential tool for PHP developers due to its efficiency, ease of use, and robust features that streamline the development process.

Why this product is good

  • Composer is a dependency manager for PHP, which simplifies the process of managing and installing libraries for projects. It ensures that the right versions of packages are used and handles dependencies automatically, saving time and reducing errors. It also has a large and active community, providing extensive support and a wealth of packages to choose from.

Recommended for

  • PHP developers looking to manage project dependencies effectively
  • Teams collaborating on PHP projects who need consistent environments
  • Developers maintaining projects with multiple external libraries
  • Anyone seeking to improve the organization and scalability of PHP applications

Composer videos

AI vs Human Music Composer 2019 - Orb Composer Review

More videos:

  • Review - Review Composer Cloud from EastWest / Soundsonline.com
  • Review - Behringer Composer PRO-XL MDX2600 Review (AUDIO TEST)

SimpleSAMLphp videos

No SimpleSAMLphp videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Composer and SimpleSAMLphp)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Identity Provider
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
SSO
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Composer and SimpleSAMLphp. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Composer seems to be a lot more popular than SimpleSAMLphp. While we know about 143 links to Composer, we've tracked only 4 mentions of SimpleSAMLphp. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Composer mentions (143)

  • Arguments a customer can understand not to use WordPress
    There is also no requirement to follow the PHP-FIG standards. The best thing that is build because of those standards is Composer. The most plugins I downloaded while writing use composer. The problem is that the plugins ship with their own vendor directory. While the standard is to have one vendor directory for the whole project. This results in different packages with the same or different version of it in the... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Insights from the PHP Foundation Executive Director
    “Extensions are now very close to being like packages; they basically look like Composer packages. It’s still open to discussion whether PIE will be part of Composer someday. It’s not decided yet, but I hope it will be,” Roman added. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • PHP Core Security Audit Results
    Dependencies are managed by Composer (like npm, cargo, etc) for more than 10 years now. https://getcomposer.org. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • WordPress and Components
    Composer and Packagist have become key tools for establishing the foundations of PHP-based applications. Packagist is essentially a directory containing PHP code out of which Composer, a PHP-dependency manager, retrieves packages. Their ease of use and exceptional features simplify the process of importing and managing own and third-party components into our PHP projects. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • 2025 Best PHP Micro Frameworks: Slim, Flight, Fat-Free, Lumen, and More!
    Simplicity: Getting started is a breeze—install via Composer, define some routes, and you’re off. Scaling up? Add middleware or libs like Twig or Eloquent as needed. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

SimpleSAMLphp mentions (4)

  • Weekly "ask anything" thread
    Https://simplesamlphp.org and you can use azure oauth2 or saml2. Source: over 3 years ago
  • How to connect PHPBB forum to existing database
    IDP - Identity Provider - A small program that attaches to your current user database. This is what gets your software to talk with other SAML2 systems. Simplesamlphp is a good plugin. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Why I'm working on Open Source full time
    I've long been impressed by https://simplesamlphp.org/ which is led by UNINETT, a state-owned company responsible for Norway's National Research and Education Network. It's a serious competitor to Shibboleth in the SAML space. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Are there PHP-based SSO / OAuth / SAML / CAS providers that I can easily self-host and manage graphically on cPanel shared hosting ?
    I only know SimpleSAMLphp, which is written in PHP. I personally use Keycloak because it is incredibly powerful, extensible and easy to manage. As for your services, you always have to check if they support OAuth 2 / OpenID Connect or SAML 2.0. But that should not be a problem for most of them. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Composer and SimpleSAMLphp, you can also consider the following products

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

Keycloak - Open Source Identity and Access Management for modern Applications and Services.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Shibboleth - standards based, open source software for web single sign-on across or within organizational...

Babel - Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

CAS - Apereo CAS - Enterprise Single Sign On for the Web