Knowledge Requirements

While you can definitely learn how to use Laravel without any prior knowledge of its core components and foundational software, we strongly recommend you do some research first.

Laravel is not a piece of software built from scratch, from the ground up, without depending on other software. As you already know, it is already based on PHP and uses several pre-existing concepts and components. That is why learning about those things will help you immensely when working with Laravel. Here are our recommendations for additional reading and knowledge.

• PHP - Laravel is built on top of the PHP programming language. A solid understanding of PHP is essential if you want to have an easier time understanding and using Laravel. Concepts such as variables, arrays, loops, functions, and object-oriented programming should be the first things you learn about;
• HTML and CSS - To build your Laravel application a frontend, you must know how to work with HTML and CSS. They are foundational in the creation of a View (interface);
• MySQL - Laravel uses a database to store and retrieve data. At least a basic understanding of MySQL and how to interact with a database using PHP will go a long way. If you intend to use a different database, then you should read up on its documentation instead;
• MVC architecture - As mentioned in our tutorial, Laravel uses the MVC architecture. You can read our entry about it and then follow the link to Laravel's official documentation on the topic to learn more about it;
• Composer - Another feature we discussed earlier is that Composer is essential for dependency management in Laravel. Feel free to read our entry about it and then follow the link to their official documentation for in-depth information;
• Git - Laravel uses Git for version control, so it's helpful to have a basic understanding of how to use Git to track changes to your codebase;
• Basic Command Line Usage - Laravel is controlled mainly by using terminal, console, or command line commands. You must have a basic understanding of how those work (depending on your operating system) and are comfortable executing those commands. This tutorial will show you an example application and give you the required commands. You can find some basic commands here to learn how to use the command line in Linux (since we will be using Linux for our purposes).

It seems like we recommend a lot of new knowledge; however, please consider that this knowledge is widely applicable. A lot of applications work on PHP and use HTML and CSS. Composer is also often used by other applications, and Git is the mecca of web development. MySQL is one of the most popular database engines, and command line usage is also at the core of web development. Knowing these things will help you with Laravel and allow you to understand how other apps work, as well as ease the process of learning other frameworks and concepts.