It has been a long time since Laravel has been in existence and licensed under the MIT license with often updates. The Laravel is actually a PHP based web framework that acts as an open-source and is free to be used by the web and application developers. The Laravel strictly follows the Model View Controller architecture system and has been created by focusing on the Symfony model that allows reusage of PHP components and libraries.

Presently the valuable source code of Laravel is available on GitHub and Laravel also hosts their own website to supply every detail which might be needed by the developers. One of the prime features that accounts for Laravel’s popularity is the numerous available ways for gaining access to the digital relational database. The other attractive features of the Laravel PHP framework are the modular package management system and the various utilities present which makes application maintenance and deployment much easier.

There have been several versions released into the market since the initial release of the first version of Laravel in June 2011. The latest version available of Laravel is version eight and is totally stable to be used in all web application development projects. Version nine is set to be released on January 25th,2022. According to the Laravel authorities, the versions which are LTS designated do receive security fixes for a span of three years along with the bug fixes of two years time. The latest version does have some special features than the older versions of Laravel.

The latest version of Laravel has amazing features like model factory classes, Laravel Jetstream, migration squashing and the unique tailwind CSS is being highly praised by web developers worldwide. The Laravel was primarily created by Taylor Otwell in order to let the developers have a better alternative to the rapid development software called the CodeIgniter. The most vital drawback of the CodeIgniter was the lack of in-built support required for user authorization and user authentication.

This problem was eradicated by the first version of Laravel which not only had the in-built support but also had the same support for models, localization, views, sessions, mechanisms and routing processes as well. The architecture type used in the Laravel framework can be considered as the most popular architecture being used by web developers. All the existing developers are switching to the PHP framework of Laravel and are getting accustomed to it.

The Laravel PHP framework has special restful controllers that help in logic segregation behind serving POST and the HTTP requests arising. The view composers present in the Laravel structure host logical code units that are customizable and are only implemented when a view is loading. Every web developer who wants to build exceptional projects needs to cope with the changes and have detailed knowledge about Laravel development skills.

The features of Laravel that make it extraordinary

Laravel has already been used for more than 1.1 million web development projects and has become the favourite PHP framework for all developers. The Laravel framework even after being the best in the PHP framework category does receive strong maintenance and constant labour for making the framework more advanced and robust. The most vital features of the Laravel PHP framework are as follows:

• The Object Relational Mapping or the ORM of this Laravel Framework is built by a sophisticated active record pattern that makes the conventional PHP more advanced. In Laravel, implementing constraints becomes much easier due to the internal methods. The efficient ORM is able to provide database tables in the form of object instances in their classes which are always attached to singular table rows.
  
• The process of reverse routing present in the Laravel framework allows future changes in the routes to be transmitted to relevant links on their own. The perfect resource identifiers are made automatically by the Laravel framework when the same name as the router is being used in the links.
  
• The Laravel developers also have the option of using the Query Builder that allows for a more simple and hassle-free connection to the database. This works as an alternative to the eloquent ORM. This feature of Laravel not only saves time and labour by removing the necessity to write SQL queries on a daily basis. The Query Builder system in the Laravel provides a unique set of classes and methods that are able to program queries on their own.
  
• The application addition process in the Laravel framework is much easier than other open-source PHP frameworks due to the modular kind packaging system. Laravel is also capable of using the Composer as a manager of the dependency for the addition of dedicated Laravel PHP packages along with the agnostics of framework that are both available to be used from the Packagist repository.
  
• In Laravel more than one template can be combined along with a data model and this is possible due to the presence of the Templating blade engine. The templates are transpiled with the PHP code priory cached and this results in combined views and escalated performance.
  Some loops and conditional statements are provided by the blade engine that gets mapped to their specific PHP counterparts. The templates and the templating engine of the blade system are highly versatile and are capable of being sourced and extended along with the directives of customized features.
  
• The pagination tasks in the Laravel framework happens automatically and doesn’t let the manual process of pagination trouble the web application developers and hence simplify the process of web application build-up. There is a vagrant virtual machine called Homestead present in Laravel which acts as a tools supply and easily provides all tools like gulp, bower, ubuntu and various other tools as well which are used rarely in the development and creation of very large web applications.
  
• The new objects can be easily generated from the IoC containers that follow the inversion of control theory. In this rule, the dedicated application code is called by the framework and it remains optional whether the new objects will be termed as singletons or not. The regression of the Laravel framework is identified and prevented by the Unit Testing model. The unit tests provided in this model are capable of being passed through the command line utility.
  
• The Laravel also holds a version control system that dedicatedly deals with schemas of databases. This system in Laravel is also known as migration that can link the necessary changes in the layout of the database with the changes in the code base of the specific application. This migration feature helps in the final deployment of the web application along with the implementation of the easy updates in the applications made from the Laravel framework.
  
• Laravel also has a publishing platform called Canvas which helps in catching or identifying the trends of the month along with the geographical points of maximum reader generation. The Canvas is also capable of identifying the time or duration of the maximum number of reader generation. There are other useful features too that the Canvas has including custom social data, statistics of publication, fewer distractions while task and lastly the powerful Unsplash Integration.

The Laravel Developer skills which will keep the developer always in-demand

The Laravel features mentioned just above should be well-known by any Laravel Developer along with more common PHP framework features. If you understand the day to day work responsibilities of a Laravel developer you will have a better idea about what should the developer properly know and be able to execute. The prime work tasks that a Laravel Developer would be needed to accomplish are mentioned briefly below:

• A Laravel developer would be someone who understands the PHP systems extremely well and is able to use that knowledge in the Laravel PHP framework to make unique and modern applications as per the requirements. Not only the person has to develop Laravel applications but also maintain and record the functionality for further improvements. The developer might have to work on the portal or directly on some sophisticated platforms.
  
• The Laravel web application developers might often require to coordinate and collaborate with a User experience or UX team. The Laravel web application developer also has a responsibility to daily document the development along with the other standard components of the project and the architectural changes.
  
• The Laravel developers are also expected to have a superior level of understanding for basic principles of framework design which would have different changes on varying scalable applications. The developer also needs to be aware of the global changes and trends in the web application development category.
  
• Have the knowledge to check through the CSS, HTML and JavaScript details and identify the validity and credibility of it. The Laravel developers would often have to act as a leader through the whole process of developing an innovative web application. Even after the delivery of the application, the Laravel developers might also have to supervise the application support after launching it.
  
• The Laravel developer also needs to possess the skills of maintaining and preparing every application which is utilizing conventional development tools. The developer not only has to report the progress to the higher authority but also inform about suggestions, evaluations and any kind of issue which can be technical or non-technical as well.
  
• Laravel developers often have a higher status than beginner level developers and thus they often act as the project leader and become the vital connection medium between other developers and the higher authority. Like any other technology, the Laravel platform also has some limitations and the developer should be well accustomed to that too.

There are certain qualifications of a Laravel developer which makes them stand out in the PHP crowd and have a higher degree of respect and value in the world of Information Technology. Laravel developers are often found to have a graduation or post-graduation degree in Computer Science, Engineering in IT or CSE, MIS or other degrees much similar to it.

They should also have superior knowledge about PHP frameworks and be proficient working in a Laravel platform that is still popular and has the Laravel authorities support in the form of fault fixing. The other technical software knowledge which the Laravel developer should have ideally on are:

• JavaScript.
• CSS.
• AJAX.
• MySQL.
• HTML.
• JQuery.
• Rest API.
• SQL Schema.

The developer should also be accustomed to the use of testing platforms like PHPUnit, Behat and PHPSpec. The most valued Laravel developers are also found to have profound knowledge regarding SOLID principles and Schema design using SQL. Besides the technical skills, the most efficient type of Laravel developers would also have to be creative along with the ability to resist their way through certain developmental problems.

The communication skills of a developer are great assets if the person has great ability to communicate not only orally but through writing medium as well. There are some additional conceptual and practical skills too which every great Laravel developer should have, they are mentioned here below:

• The Laravel Development Company or Developers are specialists when it comes to handling database management systems or DBMS. Thus they are highly proficient in setting up different categories of company data and making it easily accessible due to the simplicity of the DBMS structure.

• In-depth knowledge about Object Oriented Programming helps the Laravel developers to construct better web applications as all frameworks deal with object-oriented programming and it deals with traits, classes, objects, properties, method dependencies and some other essential fragments. The developers who have a better understanding of the MVC architecture are more preferred by the developers who don’t.

• Developers should also have knowledge about project management frameworks which helps them have better skills for managing the development projects from the beginning to the application delivery.
  
  Project management for framework deals with the aspects in which the whole process of development becomes more organized and smooth. The project management skills help the Laravel developer to fragment the development projects and allocate them to different junior and senior developers with the proper task orientation and flexibility.

Endnote for developers or aspiring developers

If you are overwhelmed by all the essential detailed skill listings which are needed by a Laravel developer then you are feeling just like many others. Becoming a highly successful Laravel developer is a very long process that has various aspects to be dealt with. Every web application developer doesn’t immediately become a Laravel developer in a day. The prior knowledge and experience which have been mentioned here are extremely crucial for becoming an expert Laravel developer.