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Yii Framework VS Symfony

Compare Yii Framework VS Symfony and see what are their differences

Yii Framework logo Yii Framework

Yii is a high-performance component-based PHP framework best for Web 2.0 development.

Symfony logo Symfony

A PHP full-stack web framework
  • Yii Framework Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17
  • Symfony Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-21

Yii Framework features and specs

  • Performance
    Yii framework is designed to be highly efficient by significantly reducing complexity in routine tasks and by optimizing performance for faster loading times.
  • Security
    Yii offers built-in security features such as input validation, SQL injection prevention, and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) protection, making it a secure option for web applications.
  • Component-based
    The framework’s component-based architecture allows for reusability of code, encouraging developers to create modular applications with a higher level of maintainability.
  • Documentation
    Yii provides extensive documentation that covers almost every aspect of the framework including guides, tutorials, and API references, aiding developers in understanding and implementing features efficiently.
  • Active Community
    Yii has a large and active community, which means a wealth of third-party extensions, frequent updates, and active forums where developers can seek assistance.
  • Gii Tool
    Yii includes a powerful tool called Gii for code generation, which helps developers quickly generate models, controllers, forms, and CRUD operations, speeding up the development process.

Possible disadvantages of Yii Framework

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners, Yii can have a steep learning curve due to its unique architecture and extensive feature set, making it somewhat challenging for those new to web development frameworks.
  • Overhead for Small Projects
    Due to its comprehensive set of features, Yii might introduce unnecessary overhead for smaller projects where a lightweight framework would suffice.
  • Advanced Configuration
    Yii offers a high level of customization but this typically requires a deeper understanding of the framework’s configuration settings, which can be complicated for less experienced developers.
  • Less Popular
    Compared to some other frameworks like Laravel or Symfony, Yii is less popular, which might make it harder to find resources, developers, and third-party integrations.
  • Extension Quality
    While there are many extensions available for Yii, the quality and maintenance of these extensions can vary significantly, potentially leading to issues if not chosen carefully.

Symfony features and specs

  • Robust Framework
    Symfony is a comprehensive and robust PHP framework that provides a wide range of tools and features for web application development, making it suitable for projects of all sizes.
  • Modular Architecture
    Symfony's component-based architecture allows developers to use only the components they need, providing flexibility and reducing overhead.
  • Community Support
    With a large and active community, Symfony offers extensive documentation, tutorials, and third-party libraries, making it easier for developers to find help and resources.
  • Scalability
    Symphony is designed to scale easily, enabling developers to build large, complex applications that can handle high traffic and user loads.
  • Performance Optimization
    Optimized for performance, Symfony includes advanced features such as caching, Lazy Loading, and HTTP cache proxies to enhance application speed and efficiency.
  • Standardization
    Symfony adheres to PHP and web development standards, ensuring that the codebase is clean, maintainable, and compatible with other standards-compliant tools.

Possible disadvantages of Symfony

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For beginners, Symfony can be challenging to learn due to its extensive features and complexity, requiring a significant time investment to master.
  • Performance Overhead
    Although Symfony is optimized for performance, its rich feature set can create overhead, potentially impacting performance if not managed correctly.
  • Initial Setup
    Setting up a Symfony project can be daunting, especially for developers who are new to the framework, due to the amount of configuration and dependencies needed.
  • Documentation Overload
    While extensive documentation is beneficial, the sheer volume can be overwhelming for new developers trying to find specific information quickly.
  • Dependency Management
    Symfony requires careful management of dependencies, and keeping track of updates and compatibility can be burdensome, especially in large projects.
  • Cost
    Though Symfony itself is free, developing with Symfony can incur costs if advanced features and commercial bundles are required, adding financial overhead to the project.

Yii Framework videos

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Symfony videos

Symfony IOL Video Review

More videos:

  • Review - Symfony vs Panoptix. Which is the BEST Lens for Cataract and Laser Lens Replacement Surgery?
  • Tutorial - [1/9] - Beginners Symfony 4 Tutorial - Getting Started With Symfony 4

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Yii Framework and Symfony)
Web Frameworks
61 61%
39% 39
Development Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Javascript UI Libraries
0 0%
100% 100

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Yii Framework and Symfony

Yii Framework Reviews

The Most Popular PHP Frameworks to Use in 2021
Familiarity with the command line is also key to using the Composer PHP package manager. The Yii Framework is one of several which uses Composer to install and manage dependencies, packages which are required for an application to run.
Source: kinsta.com
Top 9 PHP Frameworks For Web Development In 2021
The Yii framework has a whopping 11Mn+ downloads from Packagist and 13.6k+ stars on GitHub. Yii, branded as ‘YES, it is!’, is a fast, secure, flexible PHP framework for web development, especially for building MVC architecture websites. It ranks 4 on the PHP Benchmarks list. Yii is a strictly Object-Oriented PHP framework and requires knowledge of inheritance, polymorphism,...
The 10 Best PHP Frameworks To Use in 2021
Yii is a good choice for newcomers to PHP. The documentation for Yii is refreshingly comprehensive and not only will you learn about how to make an app, but you can learn more about working with database or MVC patterns, for instance.
Source: trio.dev
Top 4 PHP Frameworks to use in 2019
Yii2 is famous for advanced security and fast loading time. This framework applies a non-repetitive code principle. Such a principle allows for avoiding the repeated use of similar software patterns. Using Ajax and JQuery features, Yii2 simplifies the development of large-scale applications. Other Yii advantages are:
10 PHP MVC Frameworks in 2019 for Modern Web Developers
Another exceptional framework has graced the PHP framework list in the form of Yii. Pronounced as “yee,” this term means simple and evolutionary in Chinese. True to its Chinese semantic meaning, Yii is created to be simple, fast, and reliable. It is based in the DRY (Don’t repeat yourself) concept to help agile development for web developers.
Source: fullscale.io

Symfony Reviews

Laravel vs. Symfony: A Comprehensive Comparison of PHP Frameworks
Symfony, introduced by Fabien Potencier in 2005, is a mature and highly configurable PHP framework that is also based on the MVC pattern. Symfony emphasizes reusability and flexibility, offering a set of decoupled and reusable PHP components that can be used independently or together as part of a full-stack framework. It’s designed to be highly scalable and is favored for...
Top 5 Laravel Alternatives
Due to its C-based framework extension, Phalcon is among the most efficient and rapid PHP frameworks available. However, Laravel is a slower framework since it relies heavily on PHP and Symfony. The performance and speed of Phalcon are superior to those of Laravel Alternatives.
10 Ruby on Rails Alternatives For Web Development in 2022
Unlike Laravel, Symfony provides developers with full control over the configuration. With Symfony, programmers have to customize everything from the directory structure to the foreign libraries by themselves. For MVP projects a necessity to set up everything from the scratch is a disadvantage; for the enterprise application, absolute control is a benefit. Extra time spent...
The Most Popular PHP Frameworks to Use in 2021
The best way to interact with your databases is via the Doctrine ORM. Symfony uses data mappers to map objects to the database. This keeps your object model and the database schema separate, meaning that if you change a database column you don’t need to make many changes in your codebase.
Source: kinsta.com
Top 9 PHP Frameworks For Web Development In 2021
PHP Benchmarks rank Symfony at number 3 in the list of PHP frameworks for web development. With 24.5k+ GitHub stars, Symfony is not just a PHP web development framework but also provides a set of 50 stand-alone reusable PHP components for faster web app development. Using Symfony, you can develop web applications, microservices, and APIs too. With commercial support from...

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Yii Framework and Symfony, you can also consider the following products

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans

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

CodeIgniter - A Fully Baked PHP Framework

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

CakePHP - The Rapid Development Framework for PHP

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