Best PHP Libraries Every Developer Should Make Use Of

In the past decade, PHP has undergone substantial development, which only helped in improving the way developers create codes and develop websites. PHP as a website-development language has gained immense popularity after the emergence of brilliant frameworks such as Laravel, CodeIgniter, and Symfony. Yet, many developers are unaware of the various PHP libraries available to simplify their work.

PHP libraries are collections of pre-made functions and classes that programmers can use to accelerate development and improve code quality. These are some of the most popular PHP libraries and their example applications.

Best PHP Libraries

1. Guzzle HTTP Client

Guzzle is are HTTP client PHP libraries that simplifies HTTP request sending and online service integration. It supports HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 and includes capabilities such as asynchronous request sending, handling redirects, and proxy support. Guzzle is commonly used by PHP developers to make API queries, and it interfaces with numerous popular APIs, such as Amazon Web Services, Google Maps, and Twitter.

Example:

use GuzzleHttp\Client;

$client = new Client();

$response = $client->request('GET', 'https://api.example.com');

echo $response->getStatusCode(); //200

echo $response->getBody(); //{"message": "Hello World!"}

2. Twig Template Engine

Twig is a modern and flexible template engine for PHP that allows developers to separate the presentation logic from the application logic. To mitigate security vulnerabilities, it has template inheritance, sandbox mode, and automatic variable escaping. Symfony, Laravel, and Drupal are popular PHP frameworks that employ Twig extensively.

Example:

require_once 'vendor/autoload.php';

$loader = new \Twig\Loader\FilesystemLoader('templates');

$twig = new \Twig\Environment($loader);

echo $twig->render('index.html.twig', ['name' => 'John']);

3. PHPMailer

Popular PHP package PHPMailer enables PHP programs to send emails. Multiple recipients, attachments, HTML emails, and SMTP authentication are just a few of the features it offers. PHPMailer is easy to use and provides a wide range of setting options.

Example:

use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;

$mail = new PHPMailer;

$mail->setFrom('[email protected]', 'From Name');

$mail->addAddress('[email protected]', 'To Name');

$mail->Subject = 'Email Subject';

$mail->Body = 'Email Body';

if(!$mail->send()) {

echo 'Message could not be sent.';

echo 'Mailer Error: ' . $mail->ErrorInfo;

} else {

echo 'Message has been sent';

}

4. Carbon Date and Time Library

Carbon are prevalent PHP libraries that permits the modification of dates and times. It offers an uncomplicated and resourceful API for interpreting and formatting dates and times, as well as handling several time zones.

Example:

use Carbon\Carbon;

echo Carbon::now()->format('Y-m-d H:i:s'); //2023-02-21 11:00:00

echo Carbon::parse('2023-02-21')->addDay(); //2023-02-22

5. Monolog Logging PHP Library

File, email, Syslog, and database handlers are just some of the preferences available with the Monolog PHP logging package. Log levels such as debug, info, warning, error, and critical are supported, and an adaptable and user-friendly API is provided. For logging and debugging objectives, PHP applications and frameworks frequently employ Monolog.

Example:

use Monolog\Logger;

use Monolog\Handler\StreamHandler;

$log = new Logger('my_logger');

$log->pushHandler(new StreamHandler('logs/app.log', Logger::WARNING));

$log->warning('Warning message');

6. PHPUnit

PHPUnit is a PHP framework for unit testing that enables programmers to enroot automated tests for their code. It includes a miscellany of functions and tools for creating and running tests, making it easy to uncover faults and append code quality.

Example: 

use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

function add($a, $b) {

  return $a + $b;

}

class AddTest extends TestCase {

  public function testAdd() {

    $this->assertEquals(4, add(2, 2));

  }

}

7. Symfony Console

Symfony Console is a PHP module that adds a command prompt to PHP programs. (CLI). With Symfony Console, programmers can easily create CLI programs that respond to console input and demonstrate results to the user. 

Example: 

use Symfony\Component\Console\Application;

use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;

use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;

use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;

class HelloWorldCommand extends Command

{

    protected static $defaultName = 'hello:world';

    protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output)

    {

        $output->writeln('Hello, World!');

        return Command::SUCCESS;

    }

}

$application = new Application();

$application->add(new HelloWorldCommand());

$application->run();

8. SwiftMailer

Application developers can send emails using SwiftMailer, a powerful PHP email framework. It offers attachments, several email transport options, and HTML email templates. SwiftMailer is now among indispensable PHP libraries for developers due to the community’s extensive use of it.

Example:

$transport = (new Swift_SmtpTransport('smtp.gmail.com', 587, 'tls'))

  ->setUsername('your_gmail_username')

  ->setPassword('your_gmail_password');

$mailer = new Swift_Mailer($transport);

$message = (new Swift_Message('Wonderful Subject'))

  ->setFrom(['[email protected]' => 'John Doe'])

  ->setTo(['[email protected]', '[email protected]' => 'A name'])

  ->setBody('Here is the message itself');

$result = $mailer->send($message);

9. Laravel Framework

Laravel is an estimable PHP framework that provides a great assortment of tools for developing custom-made applications and websites. Its minified syntax and compatibility with a variety of databases make it a meritable alternative for constructing cutting-edge online applications. Laravel has features specially designed for authentication, security, routing, and the Model-View-Controller framework.

Example:

To create a new route in Laravel, you can use the following code:

To create a new route in Laravel, you can use the following code:

Route::get('/welcome', function () {

    return view('welcome');

});

10. Faker

Faker is a robust PHP module that helps programmers create counterfeited information that can be used for testing purposes. With the assistance of its many advantageous elements, creating realistic test data is a breeze for programmers.

Example:

To generate a random name using Faker, you can use the following code:

use Faker\Factory;

$faker = Factory::create();

echo $faker->name;

11. DOMDocument

A user interface for dealing with HTML and XML documents is facilitated with the power of DOMDocument module in the list of PHP libraries. It gives great versatility to programmers to decode, modify, and create XML and HTML pages. For web scraping and other data processing tasks, DOMDocument is progressively used by developers.

Example:

To load an HTML document using DOMDocument, you can use the following code:

$doc = new DOMDocument();

$doc->loadHTMLFile('https://example.com');

// Find all links in the document

$links = $doc->getElementsByTagName('a');

// Print the href attribute of each link

foreach ($links as $link) {

    echo $link->getAttribute('href') . "\n";

}

12. Assert

Assert are among the PHP libraries that provides assertion functions for validating and testing code. It ensures that the code behaves as planned and catches mistakes before they reach production. Assert is simple to use and is compatible with common testing frameworks such as PHPUnit and Behat. To utilize Assert, it must be installed using Composer. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require webmozart/assert

Example: 

Suppose we have a function that returns the sum of two numbers. Assert can be used to determine if a function behaves as intended.

use function Webmozart\Assert\Assert;

function add($a, $b) {

  return $a + $b;

}

// Test the add() function

Assert::eq(add(2, 3), 5); // Passes

Assert::eq(add(-2, 3), 1); // Passes

Assert::eq(add(2, -3), -1); // Passes

Assert::eq(add(2, 3), 6); // Fails

Assert offers many other assertion functions, such as notEmpty(), greaterThan(), and contains(), among others.

13. Stripe PHP 

Popular payment processing platform Stripe enables businesses to accept online payments. The PHP libraries like Stripe facilitates the integration of Stripe into PHP applications. To utilize Stripe, Composer installation is required. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require stripe/stripe-php

Example: 

Let’s say we want to charge a customer for a product using Stripe. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

\Stripe\Stripe::setApiKey('sk_test_...');

// Create a new customer

$customer = \Stripe\Customer::create([

  'email' => '[email protected]',

  'source' => 'tok_visa'

]);

// Charge the customer

$charge = \Stripe\Charge::create([

  'amount' => 1000,

  'currency' => 'usd',

  'customer' => $customer->id,

  'description' => 'Charge for product'

]);

14. Omnipay

Omnipay is among the list of the best PHP libraries for payment processing that offers a consistent API for numerous payment gateways. It enables integration with numerous payment gateways using a single, standardized API. This article will examine Omnipay and provide an illustration of its application. To utilize Omnipay, it must be installed via Composer. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require omnipay/omnipay

This will install Omnipay and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we want to process a payment using Omnipay with the Stripe payment gateway. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use Omnipay\Omnipay;

$gateway = Omnipay::create('Stripe');

$gateway->setApiKey('sk_test_...');

$response = $gateway->purchase([

    'amount' => '10.00',

    'currency' => 'USD',

    'description' => 'Purchase description',

    'card' => [

        'number' => '4242424242424242',

        'expiryMonth' => '12',

        'expiryYear' => '2022',

        'cvv' => '123',

    ],

])->send();

if ($response->isSuccessful()) {

    echo "Transaction was successful!\n";

    echo "Transaction reference: " . $response->getTransactionReference() . "\n";

} else {

    echo "Transaction failed: " . $response->getMessage() . "\n";

}

15. Spatie Image Optimizer

Spatie Image Optimizer are PHP libraries that enables image optimization for faster loading times and smaller file sizes. This post will examine Spatie Picture Optimizer and present an illustration of its application. To utilize Spatie Picture Optimizer, Composer installation is required. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require spatie/image-optimizer

This will install Spatie Image Optimizer and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we have an image that we want to optimize. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use Spatie\ImageOptimizer\OptimizerChainFactory;

$optimizerChain = OptimizerChainFactory::create();

$optimizerChain->optimize('path/to/image.jpg');

16. Minify

Minify are PHP libraries that enables you to minify your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code for quicker page loads and smaller file sizes. This article will discuss Minify and provide an example of its application. To utilize Minify, Composer installation is required. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require mrclay/minify

This will install Minify and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we have a CSS file that we want to minify. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use MatthiasMullie\Minify\CSS;

$css = new CSS('path/to/styles.css');

$css->minify('path/to/minified.css');

17. Swap

Swap are flexible PHP libraries that allows text strings to be converted from one format to another. With Swap, it is simple to convert between HTML, plain text, and numerous more forms. To utilize Swap, it must be installed using Composer. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require florianv/swap

This will install Swap and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we have a string in HTML format that we want to convert to plain text. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use Swap\Converter;

$converter = new Converter();

$htmlString = "<h1>Hello, world!</h1><p>This is a paragraph.</p>";

$textString = $converter->convert($htmlString, 'html', 'text');

echo $textString;

18. Tcpdf

TCPDF is a powerful PHP library for creating PDF documents programmatically. TCPDF allows you to create PDF documents with text, graphics, and other elements. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require tecnickcom/tcpdf

This will install TCPDF and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we want to create a simple PDF document that contains the text “Hello, world!”. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use TCPDF;

$pdf = new TCPDF();

$pdf->AddPage();

$pdf->SetFont('times', 'BI', 20);

$pdf->Write(0, 'Hello, world!');

$pdf->Output('hello_world.pdf', 'D');

19. Sylius

Sylius is a PHP library for reinforcing custom ecommerce apps. A developer can design innovative products, shopping carts, and orders with Sylius. To utilize Sylius, it must be installed using Composer. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require sylius/sylius

This will install Sylius and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we want to create a simple e-commerce application that allows users to purchase products. 

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use Sylius\Bundle\CoreBundle\Test\Factory\TestCartItemFactory;

use Sylius\Bundle\CoreBundle\Test\Factory\TestOrderFactory;

use Sylius\Bundle\CoreBundle\Test\Factory\TestProductFactory;

use Sylius\Bundle\ResourceBundle\Doctrine\ORM\EntityRepository;

use Sylius\Component\Core\Model\OrderInterface;

use Sylius\Component\Core\Model\ProductInterface;

use Sylius\Component\Resource\Factory\FactoryInterface;

use Sylius\Component\Resource\Repository\RepositoryInterface;

// Create a new product

$productFactory = new TestProductFactory(new EntityRepository());

$product = $productFactory->create(['name' => 'Product', 'price' => 100]);

// Create a new cart item for the product

$cartItemFactory = new TestCartItemFactory(new FactoryInterface());

$cartItem = $cartItemFactory->create(['quantity' => 1, 'product' => $product]);

// Create a new order with the cart item

$orderFactory = new TestOrderFactory(new RepositoryInterface());

$order = $orderFactory->createNew();

$order->addItem($cartItem);

// Checkout the order

$order->setState(OrderInterface::STATE_NEW);

$order->completeCheckout();

// Save the order

$em = $orderFactory->getEntityManager();

$em->persist($order);

$em->flush();

20. OAuth 2.0

OAuth 2.0 is a standard that unravels users to authenticate and grant access to their data to third-party applications without revealing their login credentials. You can create secure authentication and authorization in your applications by using an OAuth 2.0 PHP library. To utilize an OAuth 2.0 PHP library, it must be installed using Composer. Launch the terminal and navigate to the root directory of your project. Then, execute the subsequent command:

composer require league/oauth2-client

This will install the OAuth 2.0 PHP library and its dependencies.

Example: 

Let’s say we want to authenticate and authorize a user to access their Google Drive files.

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use League\OAuth2\Client\Provider\Google;

// Set up the Google OAuth 2.0 provider

$provider = new Google([

    'clientId' => 'your_client_id',

    'clientSecret' => 'your_client_secret',

    'redirectUri' => 'https://your-redirect-uri',

]);

// If we don't have an authorization code, get one

if (!isset($_GET['code'])) {

    // Fetch the authorization URL from the provider

    $authUrl = $provider->getAuthorizationUrl();

    // Redirect the user to the authorization URL

    header('Location: '.$authUrl);

    exit;

} else {

    // If we have an authorization code, exchange it for an access token

    $accessToken = $provider->getAccessToken('authorization_code', [

        'code' => $_GET['code']

    ]);

    // Use the access token to access the user's Google Drive files

    $client = $provider->getAuthenticatedClient($accessToken);

    $files = $client->get('https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files')->getBody();

    var_dump($files);

}

Conclusion

PHP libraries constitute essential tools that help programmers create more efficient code. The aforementioned examples show how these libraries can be utilized to improve and streamline typical development tasks. You will save time and effort by using these libraries in your projects and be able to focus on creating top-notch apps.