What is Laravel?

Laravel is a popular open-source PHP framework used for building web applications and websites. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which separates the application's logic from the presentation layer. Laravel provides a clean and elegant syntax for writing code and offers many built-in features that make web development tasks easier and faster.

Some key features of Laravel include:

1. Routing: Laravel provides a simple and expressive way to define routes for handling HTTP requests. Routes can be defined using a closure or controller method.

2. Eloquent ORM: Laravel includes an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) system called Eloquent, which allows developers to interact with the database using PHP objects. This makes database queries and data manipulation easier and more intuitive.

3. Blade templating engine: Laravel uses the Blade templating engine, which provides a clean and simple syntax for writing views. Blade templates can be easily extended, composing layouts, and more.

4. Middleware: Middleware is a filtering mechanism in Laravel that allows developers to run tasks before or after a request enters the application. Middleware can be used for authentication, logging, and more.

5. Authentication and Authorization: Laravel provides built-in support for user authentication and authorization. Developers can easily set up user registration, login, and password resets using Laravel's authentication system.

6. Artisan CLI: Laravel comes with a command-line interface called Artisan, which provides a set of helpful commands for scaffolding and managing Laravel applications. Developers can use Artisan to generate controllers, models, migrations, and more.

7. Testing: Laravel supports unit testing out of the box and provides convenient helper methods for testing applications. Developers can write test cases to ensure the functionality of their code.

Overall, Laravel is a robust and feature-rich framework that has gained popularity in the PHP community for its ease of use, powerful features, and developer-friendly environment. It is an excellent choice for building modern and scalable web applications.