CodeIgniter 3 was rewritten to become CodeIgniter 4 to address several key issues and to provide a more modern and robust framework for PHP web development. Here are some of the main reasons why CodeIgniter 3 was rewritten as CodeIgniter 4:
PHP Version Support: CodeIgniter 3 was built to support PHP 5.2, which was quite outdated by the time CodeIgniter 4 was being developed. PHP 7 had become the new standard, offering significant performance and security improvements. Rewriting the framework allowed the developers to leverage the features and improvements in PHP 7 and later versions.
Modern Web Development: Web development practices and standards evolved significantly between the release of CodeIgniter 3 and CodeIgniter 4. CodeIgniter 4 was rewritten to adopt contemporary coding practices and to take advantage of the latest developments in web development, such as the use of namespaces, PSR standards, and modern coding patterns.
Improved Performance: CodeIgniter 4 was designed to be more performant than its predecessor. This was achieved by optimizing the codebase and leveraging the performance improvements in newer PHP versions.
Composer Support: CodeIgniter 4 added support for Composer, a widely used PHP dependency manager. This made it easier to include external libraries and components, further enhancing code reusability and maintainability.
Better Testing and Code Quality: CodeIgniter 4 introduced a more robust and modern testing framework and improved code quality through better documentation and coding standards. This made it easier for developers to write tests for their applications and maintain high-quality code.
Built-in Features: CodeIgniter 4 introduced a set of built-in features, such as support for RESTful APIs, improved database handling, and a more flexible routing system. These additions made it easier to develop modern web applications and APIs.
Community and Contribution: The rewrite also helped to reinvigorate the CodeIgniter community by attracting new developers and contributors. A modern codebase and improved features can make a framework more appealing to developers.
In summary, CodeIgniter 3 was rewritten as CodeIgniter 4 to bring the framework up to date with modern PHP practices and standards, enhance performance, and provide a more robust and feature-rich platform for web development. This rewrite allowed CodeIgniter to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving field of web development.