CakePHP vs Yii

There are different frameworks available in the market to help the developer’s in building applications conveniently. Frameworks are application designing platform that supports code libraries and scripting languages for custom features and quicker development. Each framework supports some programming languages to write code and PHP is one of the most used programming languages for developing web applications. CakePHP and YII are PHP-based web frameworks so we will compare the two for detailed analysis.

What is CakePHP?

CakePHP is a web framework that is used for quicker application development. Being an open-source framework it is backed by strong community support. It helps in building complex applications easily by separating business logic from the presentation layer and database layer. It is a cross-platform framework launched in 2005.

Advantages of CakePHP

• It has flexible templating functionality which is implemented using helpers and PHP syntax.
• It has a request dispatcher which supports custom URLs and routing functionality easily.
• It comes with ACL (Access control list ) for implementing access rules for better security.
• It supports different types of databases like SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.

Disadvantages of CakePHP

• Fancy URLs can be used only after route updates which is a complex process.
• It lacks multiple route support.

What is Yii?

Yii commonly known as “Yee” is a BSD-licensed, cross-platform framework of PHP. Being an open-source platform, its source code is available in the YII repository for reference purposes. It was developed in 2008 by Qiang Xue and the latest version came in 2022. It become popular due to its better security and customizing features.

Advantages of Yii

• It has an advanced error-handling system for better performance.
• The appearance of web applications can be easily changed with the skinning feature.
• Code from other frameworks like Zend or PEAR can easily integrate with the base code.
• It provides high security by preventing attacks like SQL injection, CSRF, CSS, etc.

Disadvantages of Yii

• It is not beginner friendly due to unorganized documentation.
• It lacks proper drafting of AJAX features.

Below is a table of differentiation between CakePHP and Yii:

Categories	CakePHP	YII
Definition	CakePHP is a PHP framework for the quick development of web applications using HMVC architecture.	Yii can be defined as a web framework of PHP used in making MVC-based applications following an object-oriented paradigm.
Uniqueness	It prohibits the use of a composite primary key.	It allows users to use a composite primary key.
Conventions Used	It follows strict conventions.	It is flexible as compared to CakePHP.
Security	It provides good security features through ACL.	YII prevents cookie tempering and SQL attacks using in-built security features.
Controller Dependent	It is controller dependent as it has one model per controller.	It is controller independent as it has one model per action rather than a controller.
License	It has an MIT license.	It has a new BSD license.
Developer Cost	It costs around 12 to 15 dollars per hour for hiring a CakePHP developer.	It costs around 14 to 18 dollars per hour for hiring a Yii developer.

Conclusion/Summary

On a detailed comparison of the YII and CakePHP framework, it is clear that YII is better in terms of security and external plugin features while CakePHP is good for an easy and beginner-friendly interface with simplistic features. Both frameworks have similar capabilities when comes to building applications at a fast rate so both are good choices.