Is CodeIgniter development dead?

[eluser]albertleao[/eluser]
For those wondering about transition to a different framework, I can offer my knowledge of Laravel.

I still code heavily in both codeigniter and laravel, but after learning the features of laravel, there simply is no comparison.

Codeigniter gets the job done and there's nothing I can't do with it, but with Laravel, everything is simply easier.

Composer is already baked in and many new packages are written in composer with optional packaging services to integrate even deeper with laravel. The eloquent orm is beautiful and easy to use. The application structure makes a lot more sense. The ease of debugging is much higher.

One thing I've noticed now that I am proficient in both Laravel and Codeigniter is that I'm writing significantly less code on Laravel than I would on Codeigniter to do very similar things. Also, Laravel right now has an unbelievably active community and the framework is so heavily tested that it gives me a much larger sense of comfort.

I'm not saying codeigniter isn't tested, as I know it is, but with Laravel, not only is the framework thoroughly tested, but new packages that are coming out are being thoroughly tested with Laravel first to make sure it works. This makes it much easier to develop things quickly.

If you want a list of some reasons I prefer the Laravel distribution here you go:
-Eloquent / Query Builder (I use PHPActiveRecord with my CI project and there is no comparison)
-Blade Templating
-Integration with composer (with the services and providers)
-Debugging tools
-Application structure
-Adherence php 5.5+ features that make coding much much easier
-Artisan (command line tool for testing, querying a db, route testing, and scaffolding)
-Routing system (Now that I'm used to it, I much prefer a stricter routing method compared to CI's magic auto router)


I follow Taylor Otwell and a few other php developers on twitter and it's fun to see them and the heads of php discussing best practices and how to implement them into their systems in the most efficient and non-breaking way.