PHP Fat-Free Framework

PHP Fat-Free Framework

The PHP Fat-Free Framework is an open-source, lightweight PHP micro-framework that helps build dynamic web applications quickly. It has a simple yet powerful routing system, built-in support for Web templates, multilingual capability, and an easy-to-use SQL database abstraction l
PHP Fat-Free Framework image
php microframework mvc open-source

PHP Fat-Free Framework: Lightweight PHP Micro-Frameworks

The PHP Fat-Free Framework is an open-source, lightweight PHP micro-framework that helps build dynamic web applications quickly. It has a simple yet powerful routing system, built-in support for Web templates, multilingual capability, and an easy-to-use SQL database abstraction layer.

What is PHP Fat-Free Framework?

The PHP Fat-Free Framework, also known as F3 or Fat-Free, is an open-source, lightweight PHP micro-framework designed to help build dynamic web applications quickly and easily. Some key features of Fat-Free Framework include:

  • Lightweight - With a codebase of only around 90KB, Fat-Free aims to provide only the essential components needed to develop web apps, making it easy to get started.
  • High performance - Benchmark tests show Fat-Free offers excellent performance comparable to other popular PHP frameworks.
  • MVC architecture - Provides structure to separate business logic, data, and presentation layers for cleaner code.
  • Powerful routing - A simple yet flexible routing system with support for RESTful URLs.
  • Template engine - Uses its own lightweight template engine but can also work with templates like Twig.
  • Database abstraction - Easy to use SQL database wrapper with support for different DBMS.
  • Multilingual support - Comes with translations to over 35 languages.

With its small footprint and feature set focused on speed and ease of use, the PHP Fat-Free Framework is well-suited for building APIs, web services, small and mid-sized web applications. It offers developers a low barrier to entry to get up and running quickly on projects without unnecessary bloat.

PHP Fat-Free Framework Features

Features

  1. Lightweight and fast
  2. Simple yet powerful routing system
  3. Built-in support for templates
  4. Multilingual capability
  5. SQL database abstraction layer
  6. Extensive plugin ecosystem
  7. Active open source community

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Very lightweight and fast

Easy to learn and use

Good documentation

Flexible and extensible

Helps build apps quickly

Good for small to mid-sized projects

Cons

Less features than full-stack frameworks

Not ideal for large complex apps

Limited ORM capabilities

Steeper learning curve than some frameworks

Smaller community than platforms like Laravel


The Best PHP Fat-Free Framework Alternatives

Top Development and Web Frameworks and other similar apps like PHP Fat-Free Framework


Silex icon

Silex

Silex is a PHP microframework that makes it easy to build simple yet powerful web applications and APIs. It is built on top of Symfony components and Pimple dependency injection container.Some key features of Silex:Lightweight and fast - Silex has very little overhead which results in good performance for small...
Silex image
Backdrop CMS icon

Backdrop CMS

Backdrop CMS is an open source content management system that was forked from Drupal in 2013. It retains the flexibility and power of Drupal, while aiming to be simpler and have lower overhead for small to mid-sized community websites.Some key features and characteristics of Backdrop CMS include:Lightweight codebase compared to...
Backdrop CMS image
Zend Framework icon

Zend Framework

Zend Framework is an open source, object-oriented web application framework implemented in PHP 7 and licensed under the New BSD License. It utilizes the model-view-controller (MVC) architecture and modular code to facilitate rapid application development and excellent performance.Some key features and benefits of Zend Framework include:Simple and streamlined object-oriented code...
Zend Framework image
Symfony icon

Symfony

Symfony is an open-source web application framework written in PHP for developing complex and enterprise-grade web applications. It utilizes and extends several existing PHP libraries to provide modular and reusable components for building modern web applications.Some key features of Symfony include:Routing system for mapping URLs to controllersTemplating engine (Twig) to...
Symfony image
Laravel Spark icon

Laravel Spark

Laravel Spark is an open-source rapid application development tool built on top of the popular Laravel PHP framework. It provides a quick way for developers to build common functionalities needed for web applications without having to code everything from scratch.Some of the key features Spark provides out of the box...
Laravel Spark image
Yii Framework icon

Yii Framework

The Yii Framework is an open source, object-oriented, model-view-controller (MVC) PHP web application framework. Since its initial release in 2008, Yii has gained a large following due to its efficient code structure, extensive documentation, and rich feature set.Some key advantages of using Yii include:Rapid application development through built-in code generation...
Yii Framework image
Agile Toolkit icon

Agile Toolkit

Agile Toolkit is an open-source PHP framework designed to help developers quickly build web applications. It focuses on rapid application development through features like:Automatic generation of CRUD modules to manage database tablesReusable UI components to handle common tasks like forms, grids, navigation, etc.Modular architecture allowing you to plug in only...
Agile Toolkit image
CakePHP  icon

CakePHP

CakePHP is an open source web application framework written in PHP that follows the model–view–controller approach. It aims to make building web applications simpler and faster. Some key features of CakePHP include:Lightweight, extensible architecture based on the MVC patternBuilt-in libraries for commonly used tasks like database access, form validation, authentication,...
CakePHP  image
FuelPHP icon

FuelPHP

FuelPHP is an open-source web application framework written in PHP which follows the model–view–controller architectural pattern. It aims to increase the speed, security, and extensibility of web application development using PHP.Some key features of FuelPHP include:Modularity - FuelPHP has a modular structure which allows developers to use only the components...
FuelPHP image
PHPixie icon

PHPixie

PHPixie is an open source PHP framework first released in 2009. It is designed to aid in rapid application development and help build a variety of web projects like applications, APIs, websites, and more.Some key features of PHPixie include:Database abstraction and ORM for simplified database accessTemplate engine for separating logic...
PHPixie image
Adianti Framework icon

Adianti Framework

The Adianti Framework is an open source PHP framework designed to help developers rapidly create web applications. Here are some key features of Adianti:Visual interface for building forms, grids, charts etc with drag and dropDatabase abstraction layer supports multiple databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle etcBuilt-in form validation and REST supportCode...
Adianti Framework image
Koseven icon

Koseven

Koseven is an open-source PHP web application framework that emphasizes simplicity, flexibility, and efficiency. It was created in 2007 as a fork of the CodeIgniter framework. Koseven uses an MVC (model-view-controller) architecture to separate business logic from presentation.Some key features and benefits of Koseven include:Simple and lightweight - Koseven provides...
Koseven image
Kohana icon

Kohana

Kohana is an open-source HMVC (Hierarchical Model View Controller) PHP framework that aims to be secure, lightweight and performance-oriented. Originally a fork of the CodeIgniter framework, Kohana has a focus on modular code and follows object-oriented programming principles.Some key features of Kohana include:Simple and easy to understand API and modular...
Kohana image
Phunction icon

Phunction

Phunction is an open-source PHP framework released in 2022 that aims to provide a lightweight and modular architecture for building modern web applications.Some key features and highlights of Phunction include:Modular architecture - The framework is split into individual components that can be included only when needed, keeping things lightweight.Built-in security...
Phunction image
TomP2P icon

TomP2P

TomP2P is an open-source peer-to-peer (P2P) distributed hash table (DHT) designed for decentralized data storage, search, and messaging. Unlike centralized client-server models, TomP2P allows a network of peer nodes to self-organize and route data between each other without the need for a central server.Some key features of TomP2P include:Decentralized data...
TomP2P image
Silex PHP micro-framework icon

Silex PHP micro-framework

Silex is an open-source micro-framework for PHP based on the Symfony components. It is designed to be lightweight, fast, and simple to use for smaller web application projects.Some key features of Silex include:Routing system for mapping URLs to controllers/actionsService provider architecture to install additional functionalityUses Pimple dependency injection containerBuilt-in support...
Laravel Boilerplate icon

Laravel Boilerplate

Laravel Boilerplate is an open-source starter kit for Laravel framework that provides a structured and well-organized foundation for building Laravel applications faster.It comes pre-packed with features like user authentication, registration, email verification, password reset, mailing, pagination, database migrations, routes, middleware, request validation, error handling, logging, API generation, etc.The goal of...
Laravel Boilerplate image
ClanCatsFramework icon

ClanCatsFramework

ClanCatsFramework is an open source PHP model-view-controller framework that helps developers build scalable and maintainable web applications. It was created by Sami Çetin and released in 2015 under the MIT license.Some key features of ClanCatsFramework include:Routing - Elegant URLs and controller/method based routing for RESTful applications.Dependency Injection - Built-in dependency...
ClanCatsFramework image