Interview with Tomas Votruba

Eric van Johnson and John Congdon interview Tomas Votruba, who wrote an article on Why Would Anyone Want to Downgrade Their PHP Code? in the September 2021 issue.

Topics Covered

    • Downgrading PHP Code and why this might be a good workflow for you
    • Rector – Instant Upgrades and Automated Refactoring
    • The power of automated refactoring.

The post Interview with Tomas Votruba appeared first on php[architect].


Upgrading code with Rector, CQRS, Livewire, is PHP the Worst?, and more

Eric, John, and Oscar talk about changes behind the screen and the September 2021 issue, It’s Really an Upgrade.

Topics Covered

  • Changes in ownership at php[architect]
  • The Rector project: using it to upgrade and downgrade library code.
  • CQRS: using it to scale database reads and writes.
  • JWTs and Security
  • Livewire and JavaScript front end frameworks for PHP developers
  • Sebastian Bergmann and the PHPUnit project
  • Xdebug tutorials on YouTube
  • MVC pattern in PHP applications
  • Animating Life with Imagick
  • Why its a good thing that PHP is “the Worst” and why that makes it successful.
  • Why its essential to keep learning.

The post Upgrading code with Rector, CQRS, Livewire, is PHP the Worst?, and more appeared first on php[architect].


Functional PHP, Laravel Horizon, MFA, Testing with Pest, Taylor Otwell, and more

Eric, John, and Oscar sit down to go over the August 2021 issue, Trimming One’s Sails.

Topics Covered

  • Grokking algebraic structures and functional programming with PHP
  • Laravel Horizon and diving into worker queues
  • Multi-factor authentication and why you should use add it to your application.
  • Testing with Pest PHP and how it’s different from PhpUnit.
  • Eric’s interview with Taylor Otwell, creator of Laravel.
  • Annotations, using them in legacy code and PHP 8’s implementation.
  • Interfaces and patterns for using them.
  • How step debugging improves your productivity.

The post Functional PHP, Laravel Horizon, MFA, Testing with Pest, Taylor Otwell, and more appeared first on php[architect].


Interview with Scott Keck-Warren

Eric van Johnson and John Congdon interview Scott Keck-Warren, who wrote an article on Boosting User Perceived Performance with Laravel Horizon, in the August 2021 issue.

Topics Covered

  • Getting started programming with QBasic
  • Working with PHP, Laravel, and picking up new languages.
  • Scaling with queues and tasks to send surveys and synchronize data.
  • The benefits of using Horizon.
  • Building a youtube channel for new PHP developers.

The post Interview with Scott Keck-Warren appeared first on php[architect].


Interview with Ken Marks

Eric van Johnson and John Congdon talk to Ken Marks about his article in the July issue, Mentoring and Teaching PHP and his new book PHP Web Development with MySQL

Topics Covered

  • How he got stated writing and why he wrote a book.
  • How he teaches students to build web applications with PHP and MySQL.
  • Getting started in teaching PHP.
  • Becoming part of his local web development community.
  • Staying motivated as a student or intern.

The post Interview with Ken Marks appeared first on php[architect].


Elasticsearch, Teaching PHP, Design Patterns, People, Joe Watkins, and more

Listen to Eric, John, and Oscar discuss the articles in the July 2021 issue, Deep Dive into Search.

Topics Covered

  • Using Elasticsearch in an application.
  • Archery (for some reason).
  • Password complexity and entropy.
  • Why you should use a password manager.
  • Eric’s interview with Joe Watkins about Bus Factors.
  • Teaching and mentoring new developers.
  • Rocky Linux, a CentOS alternative.
  • Soylent Green, Stakeholders, and Requirements.
  • When to use the Decorator Pattern.
  • Returning to a new normal.

The post Elasticsearch, Teaching PHP, Design Patterns, People, Joe Watkins, and more appeared first on php[architect].


Debugging, Automation, GitHub Actions, Bug Bounties, and API Security

Eric, John, and Oscar chat about the articles in the June 2021 issue, Debug, Rinse, Repeat.

Topics Covered

  • Debugging
  • Git Hooks and Automation
  • Make files
  • GitHub Actions
  • Bug Bounties
  • Docker Swarm
  • Longhorn PHP and in-person conferences.
  • Approaches for Securing APIs
  • Contributing to Open-Source

The post Debugging, Automation, GitHub Actions, Bug Bounties, and API Security appeared first on php[architect].


Interview with Joseph Maxwell

Eric and John talk to Joseph Maxwell, from Swiftotter, about ecommerce, debugging, and his article in the June 2021 issue, Debug, Rinse, Repeat.

Topics Covered

  • Debugging with purpose in web applications and under pressure.
  • Coming from an ecommerce background.
  • His podcast “Smash the Bug” and upcoming book “The Art of Ecommerce Debugging.”
  • Understanding a bug or problem from the beginning with TAD.
  • Why debugging is such a critical skill.
  • What makes a developer “great.”
  • Why you should be using Xdebug with PHP applications.

The post Interview with Joseph Maxwell appeared first on php[architect].


RoadRunner, Atoum, IDEs, Feature Tests, DIY API, Wizard Thinking

Eric, John, and Oscar try to review the May 2021 issue, Testing Assumptions.

Topics Covered

  • Fall Conferences, like Longhorn PHP (CfP is currently open).
  • Debugging long-running applications using RoadRunner, ReactPHP, or Swoole.
  • Does using an IDE make you a bad developer?
  • Feature tests w/Behat
  • PHP Internals interview w/Sara Golemon
  • Building an API with off-the-shelf components
  • Thinking like a wizard and learning to spot patterns in the code.
  • Sustainability of open-source projects like PHP core and documentation.

The post RoadRunner, Atoum, IDEs, Feature Tests, DIY API, Wizard Thinking appeared first on php[architect].