Learn YII with Real Code Examples

Yii provides an MVC architecture for structured, maintainable code.

Includes Gii, a powerful code generator for CRUD operations and scaffolding.

Supports Active Record for database interactions.

Offers built-in tools for authentication, RBAC, caching, and RESTful APIs.

Provides easy integration with frontend frameworks and widgets.

MVC architecture

Routing and controllers

Active Record and database migrations

Widgets and theming for UI

Events and behaviors for extensibility

Routes - map URLs to controllers and actions

Controllers - handle request processing

Models - represent database tables using Active Record

Views - render UI using PHP templates or widgets

Migrations - version control for database schema

controllers/ - controller classes

models/ - Active Record and domain models

views/ - templates and layout files

config/ - application configuration

runtime/ - logs, cache, and temporary files

Define routes in `config/web.php` or via controller actions

Create controllers using `php yii gii/controller`

Define models and relationships using Active Record

Build views using Yii templates and widgets

Manage database schema using migrations and Gii

Beginner: Static website with basic routing

Intermediate: CRUD app using Gii and Active Record

Advanced: REST API with authentication and caching

Expert: Enterprise platform with RBAC and modular components

Architect: Large-scale system integrating multiple Yii modules

Yii vs Laravel -> Yii is faster and more component-based; Laravel has expressive syntax

Yii vs Symfony -> Yii is simpler and faster; Symfony is more modular and enterprise-focused

Yii vs CodeIgniter -> Yii is more feature-rich and secure; CI is lightweight

Yii vs CakePHP -> Yii provides better performance and modern tools

Yii vs Zend Framework -> Yii is higher-performance and developer-friendly

2008 - Yii 1.0 released by Qiang Xue

2009 - Yii 1.1 introduced with enhancements and widgets

2014 - Yii 2.0 released with Composer support and modern PHP features

2015 - Yii 2.0 stabilized with MVC and REST improvements

2017 - Yii 2.0 extended with advanced RBAC and caching

2019 - Yii 2.0 optimized for PHP 7 and performance

2021 - Yii 2.0 LTS with security and extension updates

2023 - Yii 3 alpha released for modern PHP 8+

2024 - Yii 3 stable release with improved modularity

2025 - Latest release with extended ecosystem and performance improvements

MVC - Model-View-Controller architecture

Active Record - ORM for database operations

Gii - code generator for scaffolding

RBAC - Role-Based Access Control

Widgets - reusable UI components