Since its introduction on June 9, 2011 – Laravel has been the fastest-raising PHP framework used by 46,000+ developers across the world, with its advanced integrated features and in-built CSRF token security Laravel is trusted and in use on 7,61,321+ websites.

Not only this, but Laravel also plays an important role in huge multinational companies such as BBC, TourRadar, 9GAG, Razorpay, and many others. With its boosted accessibility Laravel demand will be crazily growing in upcoming years and each of us should be prepared for it.

In nutshell, the developers are also gravitating towards Laravel – as per the survey coders have found that the PHP framework has eased down their development complexities, with offerings of more functionalities, and also optimised security which is the most important checkpoint for each business.

Regardless of Laravel’s 20 in-built libraries and modules, the rise of Laravel Package is also growing as it is a great way to store a bunch of reusable and easily shareable code – of which you might have already come across.

The addition of your code into a package and making it accessible to others is what gets named a Custom Laravel Package – you can include functionality, controllers, routes, views, and many other configurations that can be helpful for you and others in giving Laravel applications an improvement edge.

So, let’s move ahead and get on the steps to create a custom Laravel Package.

These will be 7 easy steps guiding you through a brief process of creating an optimised and useful Custom Laravel package that will be easily accessible to others with the installation process to carry out via composer.

Custom Laravel Package Development in 7 Easy Steps

1. Creation Of A New Folder In The Laravel Package

First of all, the first step will include the installation of Laravel on your pc/laptop.

After the installation steps are completed, you would need to add a new folder under the root of the app.

Then it comes to naming the folder inside the package, which can be as per your personal choice. For example, it can be the business/vendor’s name you are creating the package for – As of now let’s keep it “horizoncore”.

Then under the same folder, create another folder with the name of your package as calc. Okay, coming to the last folder to add now which you name as ‘src’ – the file with which many of us are aware of, it stands for the source file where the code of the package will lie.

Please don’t forget to check out the structure at last, which should be like this; ‘packages/horizoncore/calc/src’.

2. Naming And Initialising The Folder

For this you would need to hop on the command prompt and navigate to the folder with the exact package name; ‘packages/horizoncore/calc/src’.

Then run the command mentioned below;
Composer init

This step will be initiating the current folder add a composer package, but during the process, there will be a series of crucial questions that will be asked to you for completing the package setup.

If you are not aware of any questions during the installation steps, you can simply skip them by pressing enter as this is available as addable and editable elements which can also get done later.

After the setup is completed successfully, a new file named “composer.json” will be reflected in the package folder. This configuration file gets rooted under every PHP file, it basically contains information regarding your application data and needs.

To know how your composer.json file will look, you can check the reference below, as the initialising process is completed you can move to give the command to the main app ‘composer.json’ to load it.

    {
        "name": "horizoncore/calc",
       "description": "Different calculation function",
        "authors": [
            {
                 "name": "Example",
                "email": "example@horizoncore.com"
            }
        ],
        "minimum-stability": "mono"
    }

3. Loading The Package From The composer.json File

Just like other PHP frameworks, in the Laravel application also the composer.json file is at the root. As composer.json is the main file, there is only here you have to code define your all dependencies.

Let’s give it a start by autoloading of the created package via the autoload block:

    "autoload": {
        "classmap": [
    ...
        ],
        "psr-4": {
            "App\\": "app/",
            "horizoncore\\calc\\": "packages/horizoncore/calc/src/"
        }

To run the autoloader and autoload the package, you would need a composer – which you’ll be able to access after running the code below:

composer dump-autoload

Then there will be another command (mentioned below) which is needed to run for optimising the class loader, you won’t be doing it every time but as this for the first time, the code is necessary to run:

Php artisan optimise

4. Adding Package Service Provider

This service provider can be defined as the main entrance for getting into the package in PHP’s management system where your custom package will be loaded. This ServiceProvider will be created at the root of your app with the command line of the artisan command; i.e.

php artisan make:provider CalcServiceProvider

After its process gets completed, you’ll find a new file located at:

app/Providers/CalcServiceProvider.php

The next step will include moving this file into the package folder, the location will be:

packages/horizoncore/calc/src/CalcServiceProvider.php

Don’t miss out to change your namespace to be:

`Vendor\Package_name`.

As the window will be prompt, you’ll get to see a new service provider class in which there will be 2 methods; boot() and register().

boot() – it is a public function used to boot routes or any other functionalities you would like to add to your custom Laravel Package depending on the service provider’s boot method.

register() – Procedure used for binding of classes or functionality in the app container.

Next and the last step of this pointer will be the addition of a new ServiceProvider in the large bracket – [] array mentioned in config/app.php:

    providers' => [
        /*
         * Application Service Providers...
        */
        ...
        App\Providers\RouteServiceProvider::class,
         horizoncore\calc\CalcServicesProvider::class,
    ],

5. Adding routes.php File In Your Package

Which will be accomplished by creating new routes.php in the package src dictionary, you can simply copy and paste the below-shown code also;

    Route::get(‘calc', function(){
        echo 'Hello from the Calc package!';
    });
    After this include the routes.php file inside the boot() method of the service provider’s boot method.
    public function boot()
    {
        //
        include __DIR__.'/routes.php';
    }

When you’ll run the application by considering the route name calc, the following output will be obtained by you;

Hello from the Calc package!

6. Creating A Package Controller

Run the artisan command

php artisan make:controller CalcController

Then move the controller from

app/Http/Controllers/CalcController.php

To

packages/horizoncore/calc/src/CalcController.php.

In this controller, create 2 methods; add() and subtract(), with which the file will be looking like this;

    php
    namespace horizoncore\Calc;
    use Illuminate\Http\Request;
    use App\Http\Requests;
    use App\Http\Controllers\Controller;
    class CalcController extends Controller
    {
        //
        public function add($a, $b){
            echo $a + $b;
        }
        public function subtract($a, $b){
            echo $a - $b;
        }
    }

Addition of a few more routes and this step will be covered in less than a minute now.

    Route::get('add/{a}/{b}',
    'Horizon\Calc\CalcController@add');
    Route::get('subtract/{a}/{b}',
    'horizoncore\Calc\CalcController@subtract');

After this, navigate to the links below – there will be a little surprise awaiting you.

http://localhost:8000/add/5/2

http://localhost:8000/subtract/5/2

(On the first link, you’ll get to see the result: 7)

(On the second link, you’ll get to see the result: 3)

7. Addition Of Views To Your Custom Laravel Project

In the src folder of your packages, create another folder named views, and creation of a new file named add.blade.php, Add the below-mentioned code to it;

Then move to the registration process where these views will be loaded which is by the ServicePorvider method by adding a new code

    public function register()
    {
        // register our controller
        $this->app->make('horizoncore\Calc\CalcController');
        $this-> loadViewsFrom(__DIR__.'/views', 'calc');
    }

    public function add($a, $b){
        $result = $a + $b;
        return view('calculator::add', compact('result'));
    }

If we load up the following URL http://localhost:8000/add/5/2 in our browser we’ll end up with the following:

To call out this views, let’s change the add() function inside of the Calculator controller:

    public function add($a, $b){
        $result = $a + $b;
        return view('calculator::add', compact('result'));
    }

After this, if you’ll load the http://localhost:8000/add/5/2 in the browser – you’ll be ending with the screen showing:

Your result 7

And here we are completed with the development of your Custom Laravel Package in easy 7 steps

Kudos! You Did A Great Job.

And that’s it for now, with us you learned the development of Custom Laravel Package With Easy 7 Steps which was very easy for you for sure. If you go through the steps precisely, we bet you’ll be ending up with a perfect setup.

Even though let’s not omit the twining of coding and errors, so if you get in stuck in between any of those feel free to contact us at www.horizoncore.com and discuss your Custom Laravel Package requirements -our experienced team will be right there to help out and roll the project requirements at its best.

This blog topic will explore the significance of agile methodology in testing processes and how it can improve the quality and efficiency of software development.

Exploring the Different Agile Methodologies for Software Development

There are several agile methodologies available, each with its own set of principles, values, and practices. Some of the most popular methodologies are Scrum, Kanban, and XP (Extreme Programming). Let’s take a closer look at each of them:

Scrum

Scrum is an iterative and incremental framework for managing product development. It emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, and customer satisfaction.
The key principles of Scrum include transparency, inspection, and adaptation. The values of Scrum include commitment, courage, focus, openness, and respect.
The practices of Scrum include Sprint planning, daily Scrum meetings, Sprint reviews, and Sprint retrospectives.

Kanban

Kanban is a lean methodology that focuses on visualizing work, limiting work in progress, and managing flow. It emphasizes continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.

The key principles of Kanban include visualizing workflow, limiting work in progress, managing flow, making process policies explicit, implementing feedback loops, and improving collaboratively and evolving experimentally.
The values of Kanban include customer focus, respect for people, and leadership at all levels. The practices of Kanban include visualizing the workflow, limiting work in progress, managing flow, making process policies explicit, implementing feedback loops, and improving collaboratively and evolving experimentally.

XP (Extreme Programming)

XP is an agile methodology that focuses on delivering high-quality software through constant feedback and continuous improvement.

It emphasizes simplicity, communication, and feedback. The key principles of XP include communication, simplicity, feedback, courage, and respect. The values of XP include communication, simplicity, feedback, courage, and respect.

The practices of XP include pair programming, test-driven development, continuous integration, and frequent releases.

Each of these agile methodologies can be used in testing processes, but Scrum is particularly well-suited to testing due to its emphasis on continuous feedback and collaboration.

The Significance of Scrum in Agile Testing Processes

Scrum is a widely adopted agile framework for software development that emphasizes collaboration, iterative development, and continuous feedback. Scrum methodology is particularly significant in software development and testing processes as it provides a structured approach to testing that maximizes efficiency and quality while minimizing risk.

Here are some key benefits of using Scrum for testing processes:

• Early and Continuous Feedback
• Increased Efficiency
• Improved Quality
• Better Communication
• Risk Mitigation

Mastering the Scrum Testing Process: Activities and Best Practices

The Scrum testing process is an iterative approach to software testing that is integrated into the overall Scrum framework for software development. The process consists of three main phases: planning, execution, and review.

Planning:

In the planning phase, the product owner and the development team work together to create a backlog of user stories and prioritize them based on the value they bring to the product. The team then estimates the effort required for each story and plans the testing activities that need to be carried out in each sprint.

Execution:

In the execution phase, the development team works on implementing the user stories selected for the sprint. During this phase, the testing team collaborates closely with the development team to ensure that the user stories are implemented correctly and are thoroughly tested.

The testing team also ensures that the testing activities planned for the sprint are executed according to the plan. This includes functional testing, performance testing, and regression testing, among others. Any defects identified during testing are reported and tracked in the defect tracking system.

Review:

In the review phase, the team holds a sprint review meeting where they demonstrate the features implemented during the sprint to the stakeholders, including the product owner and other members of the team. The testing team also presents the results of the testing activities and the defects identified during the sprint.

The stakeholders provide feedback on the product, which is then used to update the backlog for the next sprint. The team also holds a sprint retrospective meeting to reflect on the sprint and identify areas for improvement in the testing process.

Testing fits into the overall Scrum process as an integral part of each sprint. The testing activities are planned at the beginning of each sprint, executed in parallel with development activities, and reviewed at the end of the sprint. The feedback obtained from testing is used to improve the product and the testing process in subsequent sprints.

Boosting Your Scrum Process with Essential Activity Tools

Scrum provides a number of activities and tools that can be used for testing processes, including Sprint planning, Sprint review, and Sprint retrospective. Here’s how each of these activities and tools contributes to the testing process:

1. Sprint Planning
2. Sprint Review
3. Sprint Retrospective
4. Test-Driven Development (TDD)
5. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)
6. Test Automation

1. Sprint Planning: During Sprint planning, the development and testing teams collaborate to determine what features will be developed and tested during the sprint.

2. Sprint Review: Sprint review is a meeting held at the end of the sprint to demonstrate the work completed during the sprint to the stakeholders.

3. Sprint Retrospective: Sprint retrospective is a meeting held at the end of the sprint where the team reflects on the sprint and identifies areas for improvement.

4. Test-Driven Development (TDD): TDD is a software development approach that emphasizes writing automated tests before writing the actual code.

5. Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): CI/CD is a practice of integrating and testing code changes frequently and deploying the code changes to production quickly.

6. Test Automation: Test automation helps the testing team save time and resources by automating repetitive and time-consuming testing activities.

Scrum provides a number of activities and tools that can be used for testing processes. These tools and activities contribute to the testing process by ensuring that the testing activities are planned and executed efficiently, defects are identified and tracked, feedback is obtained from stakeholders, and the testing process is continuously improved.

The Agile Tester: Roles, Responsibilities, and Key Skills for Success

The role of an Agile Tester is critical in ensuring the delivery of high-quality software in the Scrum process. Here are the responsibilities and skills required for an Agile Tester:

Collaborating with the team:

Agile Testers work closely with other members of the Scrum team, including developers, product owners, and Scrum Masters. They collaborate with the development team to ensure that the code developed meets the acceptance criteria defined for each user story.

They work with the product owner to clarify the acceptance criteria and ensure that the user stories are testable. They collaborate with the Scrum Master to ensure that the testing process is carried out efficiently.

Defining and prioritizing test cases:

Agile Testers define and prioritize test cases for each user story. They use their knowledge of the system requirements to identify the scenarios that need to be tested.

They prioritize the test cases based on their criticality and the risks associated with each scenario.

Creating and executing test plans:

Agile Testers create and execute test plans for each sprint. They ensure that the testing activities are planned and executed efficiently.

They use a combination of manual and automated testing techniques to test the software.

Identifying and tracking defects:

Agile Testers identify defects during the testing process and track them to closure. They work with the development team to ensure that the defects are fixed and retested.

They also work with the product owner to ensure that the defects are prioritized and resolved before the software is released.

Continuous improvement:

Agile Testers continuously improve the testing process by identifying areas for improvement and implementing best practices.

They work with the Scrum team to implement automation, improve the test coverage, and reduce the testing cycle time.

Skills required for an Agile Tester include:

• Strong analytical skills
• Attention to detail
• Communication skills
• Technical skills

Agile Testers play a critical role in the Scrum process by ensuring the delivery of high-quality software. They work collaboratively with other team members, define and prioritize test cases, create and execute test plans, identify and track defects, and continuously improve the testing process.

The Final Word

The agile methodology has become an essential approach in software development and testing processes due to its ability to adapt to changing requirements and promote collaboration within teams. Scrum, in particular, offers numerous benefits for testing processes, such as improved quality, efficiency, and communication.

Overall, implementing Scrum in software development and testing processes can lead to improved outcomes and greater success in project delivery.

If you’re looking to implement Scrum or other agile methodologies in your software development and testing processes, HorizonCore can help. Contact us today to learn more.

From clothes, footwear, to all the day-to-day life essentials – brands have made a remarkable bridge reaching each client’s door steps via eCommerce platforms that not only become over the purchase but make customers linked to the brand with timely notifications and offerings. Doesn’t that sound like a great way to connect with your clients too?

E-commerce applications are online platforms that help businesses to make their services or products sell online even if the industry belongs to foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, individual consultants offering various packages or any sector one can list off.

A well-designed and structured website helps you to boost your business. The growth of information technology has made it compulsory for every business to have a website so they are just a search away from the world.

Starting a new business using an eCommerce application can be useful for driving the right audience too as it is particularly based and designed as per the industrial requirements which can also result in scaling the higher reach compared to offline stores and without huge investments.

According to the previous survey, global e-commerce sales reached $4.28 trillion. In 2023, it is expected to reach $6.5 trillion. The digital age and social media usage for e-commerce has seen rapid growth.

After listing your business under a perfect niche it’s essential to conduct precise market research for offering interface as per current market requirements.

Making an e-commerce application from scratch is not that difficult. So, let’s give it a start by understanding the step-by-step roadmap of it first.

Guide to Build an E-commerce Application

1. Thorough Market Research

Any business cannot be started without any research. You should have a thorough understanding and knowledge about the competitors and the forthcoming opponents. This will help you to achieve success in your way.

In the market, there are brands like H&M and Zara. You might wonder how small brands will compete with these major brands. But Covid -19 has impacted people. They have now shifted to smaller businesses as sometimes they have more unique designs and patterns.

For example, a small handicraft business owner might try to reach people who are interested in antique and handmade items. Their focus is on the quality and design of the products.

The majority of business owners’ decisions depend on market research. Based on market research, competitors are identified.

2. Select a Domain Name

The next step after market research is to choose a domain name. The domain name is an easy-to-remember website’s equivalent IP address on the internet. It is an URL with the business name in it.

The name of the domain should be carefully made for the business to grow. The main advantage of the domain name is that the audience can easily find your product online.

The suggestable name for the domain extension is .com rather than .biz, or .net. For the domain name, a hosting provider is needed. The hosting provider helps to send back-and-forth website data. Anytime a customer visits the page.

3. Pick the Appropriate Technology

The website requires appropriate technology after the knowledge of the target audience.

Before selecting the technology, one important thing to remember is that the business owner should know the business’s internal workings. This will lead to a faster decision on which technology to use.

Choosing mobile platforms for the target audience is not a difficult task. Instead, it is the simplest task of all. You have to choose whether to release an Android app, an iOS app, or both.

For any product to be successful in the market, a smart tech stack is essential. The tech stack includes a variety of components like Frontend (app interface), Backend (server processing), Development (libraries and interfaces platform), and support (app security and performance).

4. Select a suitable Computer Management System (CMS)

Several content management systems (CMS) like WordPress or WooCommerce are used for creating e-commerce websites. Not only CMS is used but various programming languages like HTML, CSS, and Javascript are used.

The benefit of choosing a CMS is that the website will be easy to use for people. The website can be customised easily and at any time. Sometimes, several CMS give inbuilt e-commerce functionality options.

Customization of the website will lead to a better design and functionality of the website. For that, experienced app developers will require it, and be time-consuming also. Hiring an app developer will be a suitable option for the development process.

5. Develop a prototype

After doing the above four steps, start building a prototype. The hired app developers and selected design for the website will help to develop the prototype faster and quicker.

After the prototype is developed, you can easily make changes to the website. You can drag and drop features where you need them, and discard the ones that you no longer require.

Building a prototype is not optional – it is essential.

6. Other Essential Features

Once the prototype model is tested and an actual website is developed. There are other several features required to add like product details, testimonials, and payment methods.

Product details with appropriate images of the product must be visible and specified. For better attraction, provide a brief description of each product simply with proper price and discount range.

Various research shows that ratings and testimonials influence consumers to buy the product.

Try to keep all modes of payment like cash on delivery, and credit/debit cards. Other options like UPI, Gpay, and Paytm are also available.

Take Away

All the essential steps required to build an e-commerce website from scratch are included. You might think that the developing process is easy but the best work requires time.

There’s a saying that seeds planted do not sprout the next day but that doesn’t mean they never will.

HorizonCore will guide you in every possible way to make your website successful. Even if you don’t have any technical experience or deeper knowledge about the ecommerce website. We are here to help, to make an inquiry for the same +91 98980 22367 or Visit our website www.horizoncore.com/blog/

In this blog, we will explore the differences between Flutter and React Native and provide small business owners with the information they need to choose the right option for their business.

CROSS-PLATFORM APP DEVELOPMENT

The apps built by cross-platform app development uses a single codebase and virtually uses both iOS and Android operating systems.

Cross-platform app development is divided into two categories: Hybrid Development and Native Development.

Flutter and React Native come under the native development of cross-platform app development.

They both use native widgets which are highly customizable and responsive UI codes among different platforms.

Flutter

Flutter is an open-source mobile framework created by Google in 2018 based on the Dart Programming language. The basic foundation of Flutter is Android platforms and operating systems. The main advantage of Flutter is that it can be deployed on both Android and iOS.

Developers use Flutter because it has a single database. Google Ads and eBay use Flutter.

PROS and CONS of Flutter:

PROS

• Fast Development and Deployment
• Screen Reader
• Rapid Rendering
• Quality Documentation
• Uses single UI
• Hot Reload

CONS

• Large Project Size
• Limited sets of tools and libraries
• Lacks Native Performance
• Young Framework

React Native

Facebook Engineers introduced React Native in 2015. React Native is considered the hottest mobile development framework. The foundation of React Native is ReactJS. Developers use JavaScript to create mobile applications on iOS and Android. Instagram, Pinterest, and Skype use React Native.

PROS and CONS of React Native:

PROS

• Uses JavaScript Language
• Active and Supportive Community
• Reusable Code
• Cost Effective
• Works across Multiple Platforms
• Easy to Learn

CONS

• Still Not Native
• Issues of Debug
• Lacks packages and libraries
• Broken UI
• Limited Options

Comparison Between Flutter VS React Native

Learning Curve:
Flutter is learned easily as compared to React Native. Developers are more eager to learn Dart Programming Language than JavaScript. The reason is Dart is easier to work with and comprehend than JavaScript.

Programming Language:
Flutter uses Dart, a relatively young while React Native uses JavaScript, a mature language. But Dart being relatively young can perform twice as fast as JavaScript because of ahead-of-time and just-in-time compilers.

Architecture:
Dart has many components built into it and thus does not occupy much of the space. JavaScript uses only one component and requires a larger area. Dart has multiple frameworks like Material Design and Cupertino. JavaScript uses only Flux architecture. Dart also uses Skia graphics ie C++.

UI and Development API:
Flutter has built-in components and eliminates third-party libraries. The rendering process of widgets is started from scratch. React Native makes use of iOS and UI Android components. The rendering process is completed after providing the APIs. Additionally, it depends heavily on third-party libraries.

Performance:
There is no link between interactions among the native components of Flutter. Thus, this makes interactions among natives quicker, improving its overall performance.
A bridge is interconnected between JavaScript and native components. As a result, the running time and development are slower.

Documentation:
The users can easily read the document of Flutter as compared to React Native. The developers of React Native have created a complex document and think that users already know JavaScript.

Code Reusability:
In Flutter, the developer can easily reuse the code by changing only one line and specifying a new business logic. In React Native, reusing the code is not straightforward and time-consuming. React Native uses different codes for multiple platforms.

Ease of Installation:
Flutter installation is quite easy as compared to React Native. There are simple steps that need to be followed. Download the Flutter package, unzip it, and then create a favorable environment.

Popularity:
Flutter being new is still gaining its attention, but a lot of developers have shifted towards it. The reason is that the Dart Programming Language is quicker and easier to learn and understand.

React Native is comparatively old and is adopted widely. The react native developers are still facing problems while developing the mobile applications because JavaScript is difficult to use and understand.

OUTCOME

Both Flutter and React Native have similarities and differences. But Flutter is easier to learn than React Native.

Small business owners should Flutter as it is easy and quick to learn and comprehend.

HorizonCore has experienced developers and will guide which cross-platform mobile application will be the most effective.

If you still have any queries contact us at +91 98980 22367 or Visit our website link https://www.horizoncore.com/blog/