Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework that was released in 2011 by Taylor Otwell. It has quickly become one of the most popular web frameworks, known for its elegant syntax, powerful features, and expressive syntax.

Laravel is built on top of several PHP components, including the Symfony HTTP components, providing a solid foundation for web development. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture pattern, which separates the application's concerns into three different parts.

Laravel includes a wide range of features that make it an attractive choice for developers. Some of the key features include:

Routing: Laravel provides a simple and elegant syntax for defining web routes, making it easy to define custom routes and handling requests.

Middleware: Laravel's middleware system allows developers to add custom logic to HTTP requests and responses, providing a flexible and powerful way to handle authentication, caching, and other common web application tasks.

Eloquent ORM: Laravel's ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) system, Eloquent, makes it easy to work with databases by providing a simple and expressive syntax for defining models and relationships.

Blade templating engine: Laravel's Blade templating engine provides a simple and elegant syntax for defining templates, making it easy to create reusable components and layouts.

Artisan command-line interface: Laravel includes a powerful command-line interface, Artisan, that provides a wide range of commands for common development tasks, such as database migrations, generating code, and running tests.

Laravel also has a strong community and ecosystem, with a wide range of packages, plugins, and tools available to extend and customize the framework. The Laravel community is active and supportive, with regular updates, documentation, and community events.

In summary, Laravel is a powerful and popular web framework that provides a robust set of features and tools for building modern web applications. It is known for its expressive syntax, elegant design, and strong community support, making it an excellent choice for developers looking to build high-quality web applications.