Laravel is a popular open-source PHP web application framework used for developing web applications and websites. It was created by Taylor Otwell and was first released in 2011. Laravel follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which promotes separation of concerns and a clean, maintainable code structure. It has gained widespread adoption in the PHP development community due to its elegant syntax, robust features, and a vibrant ecosystem of packages and tools.

Here are some key features and concepts associated with the Laravel framework:

1. Eloquent ORM: Laravel includes an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) called Eloquent, which simplifies database interactions by allowing developers to work with databases using an intuitive and expressive syntax. It provides an easy way to define database models and relationships.
2. Blade Templating Engine: Laravel comes with the Blade templating engine, which allows developers to write templates with clean and concise syntax. Blade templates are compiled into efficient PHP code for better performance.
3. Artisan Console: Laravel includes a command-line tool called Artisan, which provides a variety of commands for tasks like code generation, database migrations, and more. It streamlines common development tasks and helps automate repetitive processes.
4. Middleware: Middleware in Laravel allows you to filter HTTP requests entering your application. You can use middleware to perform tasks like authentication, logging, and more before a request reaches the application logic.
5. Routing: Laravel provides a powerful and flexible routing system that allows developers to define application routes in a clear and organized manner.
6. Authentication and Authorization: Laravel makes it easy to implement user authentication and authorization with built-in features and pre-built methods for user management.
7. Database Migrations and Seeding: Laravel simplifies database management through migrations and seeding. Migrations enable you to version control your database schema changes, and seeding allows you to populate your database with sample data.
8. Testing: Laravel supports testing out of the box. It provides tools for writing unit tests and running them with PHPUnit.
9. Dependency Injection and IoC Container: The framework uses a powerful Inversion of Control (IoC) container that makes it easy to manage class dependencies and perform dependency injection.
10. Community and Ecosystem: Laravel has a vibrant and active community of developers who contribute packages and libraries to extend its functionality. The Laravel ecosystem includes tools like Laravel Nova for admin panel generation, Laravel Passport for API authentication, and more.

Laravel is known for its developer-friendly approach, concise syntax, and comprehensive documentation. It is widely used for building a variety of web applications, including e-commerce websites, content management systems, and RESTful APIs. Laravel's focus on developer productivity and modern development practices has contributed to its popularity in the web development community.