What Topics in PHP Should You Learn Before Learning Laravel?

Laravel is a powerful PHP framework that simplifies web development by providing elegant syntax and a rich set of tools. However, before diving into Laravel, it’s essential to have a solid understanding of PHP—the language on which Laravel is built. Learning the right PHP topics will not only make it easier to grasp Laravel but also help you write better, more efficient code.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key PHP topics you should learn before starting your Laravel journey. Whether you’re a beginner or an intermediate PHP developer, this guide will help you prepare for Laravel. 💡

Why Learn PHP Before Laravel? 🤔

Laravel is built on PHP and utilizes many PHP features extensively. Without a good understanding of PHP, you might struggle to:

Understand Laravel’s core concepts.
Debug errors effectively.
Write clean and maintainable code.
Customize or extend Laravel’s functionality.

By mastering PHP fundamentals, you’ll have a strong foundation to learn Laravel and build robust web applications.

Key PHP Topics to Learn Before Laravel

1. Basic PHP Syntax

Variables and Data Types: Learn how to declare variables and work with data types like strings, integers, floats, booleans, and arrays.
Operators: Understand arithmetic, comparison, logical, and assignment operators.
Control Structures: Master if, else, switch, for, while, and foreach loops.
Functions: Learn how to define and call functions, pass arguments, and return values.

Why It’s Important: These basics are the building blocks of PHP and are used extensively in Laravel.

2. Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Classes and Objects: Understand how to create classes and instantiate objects.
Properties and Methods: Learn how to define and use class properties and methods.
Inheritance: Understand how to create child classes that inherit from parent classes.
Encapsulation: Learn about access modifiers (public, private, protected).
Polymorphism: Understand method overriding and interfaces.
Namespaces: Organize your code and avoid naming conflicts.

Why It’s Important: Laravel uses OOP extensively; mastering these concepts will help you work with Laravel’s classes, models, and controllers.

3. Working with Arrays

Indexed and Associative Arrays: Learn how to create and manipulate arrays.
Array Functions: Master functions like array_map, array_filter, array_merge, and array_keys.
Multidimensional Arrays: Understand how to work with nested arrays.

Why It’s Important: Arrays are widely used in PHP and Laravel for handling data.

4. String Manipulation

String Functions: Learn functions like strlen, strpos, substr, str_replace, and explode.
Concatenation: Understand how to combine strings.

Why It’s Important: String manipulation is essential for handling user input, URLs, and database queries.

5. Error Handling

Try-Catch Blocks: Learn how to handle exceptions using try, catch, and finally.
Custom Exceptions: Understand how to create and throw custom exceptions.

Why It’s Important: Understanding error handling in PHP will help you debug and manage errors effectively, a critical aspect when working with Laravel.

6. Working with Forms and User Input

Superglobals: Learn about $_GET, $_POST, and $_REQUEST for handling form data.
Validation: Understand how to validate user input to prevent security vulnerabilities.

Why It’s Important: Laravel provides advanced tools for handling forms and validation, but knowing the basics will help you understand how these systems work.

7. File Handling

Reading and Writing Files: Learn how to use functions like file_get_contents, file_put_contents, fopen, fread, and fwrite.
File Uploads: Understand how to handle file uploads securely.

Why It’s Important: Laravel simplifies file handling, but knowing raw PHP file operations is beneficial for troubleshooting and customization.

8. Sessions and Cookies

Sessions: Learn how to start, store, and destroy sessions using $_SESSION.
Cookies: Understand how to set, read, and delete cookies using setcookie.

Why It’s Important: Laravel uses sessions and cookies for authentication and user management; understanding these basics is crucial.

9. Database Interaction

MySQLi and PDO: Learn how to connect to a database, execute queries, and fetch results using MySQLi or PDO.
CRUD Operations: Understand how to perform Create, Read, Update, and Delete operations.
Prepared Statements: Learn how to use prepared statements to prevent SQL injection.

Why It’s Important: Laravel’s Eloquent ORM simplifies database interactions, but understanding raw PHP database handling gives you deeper insight.

10. Composer and Autoloading

Composer: Learn how to use Composer to manage dependencies and autoload classes.
PSR-4 Autoloading: Understand how to autoload classes using namespaces.

Why It’s Important: Laravel uses Composer for dependency management, so mastering it will help you work effectively with Laravel packages.

11. Security Best Practices

Input Validation: Learn how to sanitize and validate user input.
Password Hashing: Understand how to securely hash passwords using password_hash and password_verify.
CSRF Protection: Learn about Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) and how to prevent it.

Why It’s Important: Security is critical in web development, and PHP security practices form the basis for Laravel's advanced protections.

12. APIs and JSON

Working with JSON: Learn how to encode and decode JSON using json_encode and json_decode.
Building APIs: Understand how to create simple RESTful APIs in PHP.

Why It’s Important: Laravel is frequently used for API development; knowing JSON and API fundamentals will give you a head start.

13. PHP Frameworks Basics (Optional)

MVC Architecture: Learn the basics of the Model-View-Controller pattern.
Routing: Understand how routing works in PHP frameworks.

Why It’s Important: Laravel follows the MVC pattern, so having a foundation in it will make learning Laravel easier.

How to Practice PHP Before Learning Laravel

Build Small Projects: Create projects like a to-do list, blog, or contact form to practice your PHP skills.
Solve Coding Challenges: Use platforms like HackerRank, LeetCode, or Codewars to improve your problem-solving skills.
Contribute to Open Source: Look for PHP projects on GitHub and start contributing.
Follow Tutorials: Watch PHP tutorials on YouTube or platforms like Udemy and Pluralsight.

Conclusion

Learning PHP thoroughly before diving into Laravel is a smart investment of your time. By mastering the topics outlined in this blog, you’ll build a strong foundation that will make learning Laravel much easier and more enjoyable.

Once you’re comfortable with PHP, you’ll be ready to explore Laravel’s elegant syntax, powerful tools, and extensive ecosystem. Happy coding!