A microframework is a term used to refer to minimalistic web application frameworks. It is contrasted with full-stack frameworks.

It lacks most of the functionality which is common to expect in a full-fledged web application framework, such as:

• Accounts, authentication, authorization, roles
• Database abstraction via an object-relational mapping
• Input validation and input sanitation
• Web template engine

Typically, a microframework facilitates receiving an HTTP request, routing the HTTP request to the appropriate function and returning an HTTP response. Microframeworks are often specifically designed for building the APIs for another service or application. ^[1] For example, Lumen microframework is designed for microservices development and API development.

Pseudocode example

require "foo.php";

foo::get("/hello/{name}", function($name) {
    return "Hello $name!";
});

Microframeworks

References