A very warm welcome to you out there in the PHP community, and thank you for joining us :)
What makes PHP popular? After seeing this question pop up on a forum recently, Eric Barnes tells us why he started using PHP back in the early 2000s.
Also this week we learn how to retrieve YouTube video thumbnails in PHP without using the YouTube api.
This months php[podcast] looks at the April edition of php[architect] magazine Testing in Practice.
Plus we have an article on creating a WordPress plugin.
And finally, the International PHP Conference, the worlds first PHP conference, takes place over 5 days this June, in Berlin. Tickets are on sale now.
Enjoy your weekend,
Cheers
Ade and Katie
|
Please help us by clicking to our sponsor:
Protect your PHP Code
Why not try SourceGuardian 11. Click here to download a 14 Day Trial copy. Protect your code using Windows, Linux or Mac and run everywhere with our free Loaders. |
Articles
What Makes PHP Popular?
I saw this question pop up on a forum and I know every PHP developer has their own reasons, it made me think of why I initially picked PHP way back in the early 2000’s when v4.3 was king.
Atlas.ORM “Cassini” (v3) Early-Access Alpha Release
For those of you who don’t know, Atlas is an ORM for your persistence model, not your domain model. Atlas 1 “Albers” (for PHP 5.6) was released in April 2017. Atlas 2 “Boggs” (for PHP 7.1) came out in October 2017. And now, in April 2018, we have an early-access release of Atlas 3 “Cassini”, the product of several lessons from a couple of years of use.
12 Best Contact Form PHP Scripts
Contact forms are a must have for every website. They encourage your site visitors to engage with you while potentially lowering the amount of spam you get. Whether your need is for a simple three-line contact form or a more complex one that offers loads of options and functions, you’re sure to find the right PHP contact form here in our 12 Best Contact Form PHP Scripts on CodeCanyon. |
Tutorials and Talks
How to Download YouTube Video Thumbnails Using PHP
The following post shows how you can retrieve any YouTube video thumbnails in PHP without using the YouTube api. I needed this for a onetime solution to get some thumbnails for a few videos and using the api seemed a little time consuming. So here goes.
Flexible Heredoc and Nowdoc Coming to PHP 7.3
Updates to the Heredoc and Nowdoc syntaxes proposed in a php.net RFC have been made for the upcoming PHP 7.3 release. The updates focus on improving look and readability.
Implementing Abstract Classes and Interfaces with Traits
There are some very helpful ways to organise classes and objects in PHP. Interfaces, Traits, and Abstract Classes can work together to make code that follows the rules of abstraction. Using these OOP features in PHP allows us to create code that is easy to extend and maintain, saving time and money down the road. Let’s look at what these structures are as well as how and when abstract classes, traits, and interfaces can be useful in Object Oriented PHP.
JWT Authentication For Lumen 5.6
Recently I have been tinkering with Vue.js to get a taste of it and I decided to create a quick project to get my hands dirty. I decided to create a blog with authentication etc. My main focus was on the front-end so I decided to quickly bootstrap an application in Lumen because of its simplicity and almost zero-configuration development. For the authentication, I decided to go with JWT and this post is going to be a quick write-up on how I integrated that and how anyone can integrate JWT authentication in their APIs. I hope you are excited so lets get started.
Testing in Laravel
Irrespective of the application you're dealing with, testing is an important and often overlooked aspect that you should give the attention it deserves. Today, we're going to discuss it in the context of the Laravel web framework.
QueryFilter: A Model Filtering Concept
Having a clean code with single responsibility is important, and doing that for model filtering can be easy and very powerful. Believe me.
Make Your Chatbots GDPR Compliant
Only one month left until the GDPR will take effect and people are already freaking out. If you haven't made yourself familiar with this topic, you need to do it now! This article will give you a summary of what you need to know and provide you with steps to make your chatbots GDPR compliant.
Combing Legacy Code String by String
I find it very curious that legacy (PHP) code often has the following characteristics: Classes with the name of a central domain concept have grown too large; Methods in these classes have become very generic.
Class Property and Method Visibility in PHP
Have you ever been confused by the difference between “private” and “protected” properties in PHP? Do you have to declare all your properties as “public”? What would you use a “private” method for? If you’ve ever had questions about method or property visibility in PHP, read on. I hope this post will improve your understanding of it.
What's New and Changing in PHP 7.3
This is a live document (until PHP 7.3 is released as generally available) on changes and new features to expect in PHP 7.3, with code examples, relevant RFCs, and the rationale behind them, in their chronological order.
How to Slowly Turn your Symfony Project to Legacy with Action Injection
The other day I saw the question on Reddit about Symfony's controller action dependency injection. More people around me are hyped about this new feature in Symfony 3.3 that allows to autowire services via action argument typehints. It's new, it's cool and no one has a bad experience with it. The ideal candidate for any code you write today.
Leverage Eloquent To Prepare Your URLs
It’s not uncommon to have tens, if not hundreds of views in a Laravel application. Something that soon gets out of hand is the various references to routes. If for whatever reason we have to make a change to either the route alias or default query string values you’ll soon find yourself doing mass string replacements across your entire application which brings the risk of breakage within many files.
How We Create WordPress Plugins: From Idea To Release
If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you’ve probably seen some of our tutorials on developing plugins using different technologies like React and Vue. But when not writing examples for blog posts, we rarely if at all dive into creating a new plugin – there’s a lot more that goes into it before we write a single line of code. In this week’s post, we’ll be taking a look at everything we do to create a new product or WordPress plugin. We don’t adhere strictly to any specific software development process, but the method we’re using currently seems to work well.
Implementing Abstract Classes and Interfaces with Traits
There are some very helpful ways to organise classes and objects in PHP. Interfaces, Traits, and Abstract Classes can work together to make code that follows the rules of abstraction. Using these OOP features in PHP allows us to create code that is easy to extend and maintain, saving time and money down the road. Let’s look at what these structures are as well as how and when abstract classes, traits, and interfaces can be useful in Object Oriented PHP. |
News and Announcements
International PHP Conference - June 4-8th 2018, Berlin
The International PHP Conference is the world’s first PHP conference and stands since more than a decade for top-notch pragmatic expertise in PHP and web technologies. Internationally renowned experts from the PHP industry meet up with PHP users and developers from large and small companies. Here is the place where concepts emerge and ideas are born - the IPC signifies knowledge transfer at highest level. All delegates of the International PHP Conference have, in addition to PHP program, free access to the entire range of the webinale taking place at the same time. Tickets are on sale now.
Dutch PHP Conference - June 7-9th 2018, Amsterdam
Ibuildings is proud to organise the eleventh Dutch PHP Conference on June 8th and 9th, plus a pre-conference tutorial day on June 7. Both programs will be completely in English so the only Dutch thing about it is the location. Keywords for these days: Know-how, Technology, Best Practices, Networking, Tips & Tricks. The target audience for this conference are PHP and Mobile Web Developers of all levels, software architects, and even managers. Beginners will find many talks aimed at helping them become better developers, while more experienced developers will come away inspired to do even better and with knowledge about the latest tools and methodologies. Tickets are on sale now.
WavePHP Conference - September 19th-21st 2018, San Diego
WavePHP Conference is bringing the wonderful PHP community to the Southwest United States. Designed to be a conference for both professionals and hobbyists alike. Held in beautiful southern California's San Diego County the area has ideal weather and tons of activities. Blind Early Bird Tickets are on sale now until the weekend. |
Podcasts
php[podcast] Episode 9: Testing in Practice
Our hosts, Eric van Johnson and John Congdon dive into Testing in Practice and the April 2018 issue of php[architect] magazine. Share your thoughts on the topics covered and leave a comment below.
Full Stack Radio Podcast Episode 87: Chris Fritz - Vue.js Anti-Patterns (and How to Avoid Them)
In this episode, Adam talks to Chris Fritz about common mistakes people make when designing Vue.js applications, and better ways to solve the same problems.
The Changelog Podcast #294: Code Cartoons, Rust, and WebAssembly
Lin Clark joined the show to talk about Code Cartoons, her work at Mozilla in the emerging technologies group, Rust, Servo, and WebAssembly (aka Wasm), the Rust community's big goal in 2018 for Rust to become a web language (thanks in part to Wasm), passing objects between Rust and JavaScript, Rust libraries depending on JavaScript packages and vice versa, Wasm ES Modules, and Lin's upcoming keynote at Fluent on the parallel future of the browser.
PHP Ugly Podcast #102: We Address Congress
Topics include tips for working remote and Todoist.
North Meets South Web Podcast Episode 44: ANZACs, Queues, and File Uploads
Jake and Michael return in an irregular time slot to discuss ANZACs, scaling Laravel, queues, handling file uploads, and more!
Post Status Draft Podcast - Contextualised Learning In Or Around WordPress
In this episode, the dynamic Brian duo discuss the highly-anticipated return of WordSesh, the different ways in which we all learn the same, and some of the problems we face in skill building. |
Surface Book 2 For Development
Over the past month and a half I've been trying to fully switch to a new work machine. Instead of my trusty MacBook Pro, I've mostly been working with a Microsoft Surface Book 2. Here's my lessons of this period.
Kinsta Kingpin: Interview with James Laws
This is our recent interview with him, as part of our Kinsta Kingpin series.
Cloudways Interview: The Journey Of Anthony Hortin Running A WordPress Development Agency
This week we interview Anthony Hortin, a WordPress web design veteran. Hailing from Melbourne, Anthony is the owner of Maddison Designs, a web development and design agency that specialises in providing customised WordPress sites using the latest web design trends and practices.
DrupalCon North America Location Survey Results
Over the past few years, we’ve been listening to the community ask for explanation as to why we haven’t had any DrupalCon North America locations outside of the United States - after all it’s called DrupalCon North America, not DrupalCon U.S.A. This isn’t something we’ve taken lightly or ignored. DrupalCon North America is a major funding source for the Drupal Association, and in that regard, a major funding source of Drupal.org and the engineering work that keeps the code accessible and available for everyone.
PHP Digest #16: News and Tools
We know you missed our PHP digest. Finally, the 16th issue is hot off the press! Read about an open analog of Google Analytics, powerful library to describe business processes, simple and easy to use catch-all SMTP mail server, static code analyser to search for possible errors, and more. Enjoy!
New Course: Code a Single-Page App With Laravel and Vue.js
Want to add more responsiveness and interactivity to your Laravel app? Try using the cutting-edge Vue.js JavaScript framework to create a fluid, responsive single-page app. You'll learn how to do it from start to finish in our comprehensive new course, Code a Single-Page App With Laravel and Vue.js. |
Jobs
Senior PHP Front End Developer - Limassol, Cyprus
Cooperating closely with the design team and content writers to implement any necessary changes to multiple company websites. Developing and testing new features. Overseeing the correct functionality of the multiple company websites and solving any problems these websites encounter and/or liaising with the appropriate expert. Performing routine site maintenance as needed and detecting errors. Staying abreast of the latest developments in his/her field, emerging technologies and services that may enhance the web experience. Making relevant recommendations to the PHP FED team. Assisting other departments with any queries related to PHP FED team responsibilities.
Senior PHP Back End Developers - Limassol, Cyprus
Gathering requirements, designing and implementing new features/projects. Maintaining and refactoring existing web applications such as the Company’s payment gateway. Resolving support tickets for IT related issues. Researching and integrating new web technologies. Collaborating with other departments or IT staff members.
German Speaking PHP Developer (m/f)
You’re proud to call yourself a nerd and consider programming in PHP to be more than just a job? You’d like to help us make our shop better and faster while simultaneously providing our customers with an unparalleled and flawless shopping experience? If you feel like this describes you and also happen to have a weakness for new technology, you’re just the person we’re looking for!
Do you have a position that you would like to fill? PHP Weekly is ideal for targeting developers and the cost is only $50/week for an advert. Please let me know if you are interested by emailing me at [email protected] |
Interesting Projects, Tools and Libraries
php-business-time
"Business time" logic in PHP (aka "business hours", "working days" etc). This can be useful for calculating shipping dates, for example.
phpactor
This project aims to provide heavy-lifting refactoring and introspection tools which can be used standalone or as the backend for a text editor to provide intelligent code completion.
server-status
Simple, modern looking server status page with administration and some nice features, that can run even on shared webhosting.
spftoolbox
A Javascript and PHP app to look up DNS records such as SPF, MX, Whois, and more.
firefly-iii
"Firefly III" is a (self-hosted) manager for your personal finances.
kahlan
A full-featured Unit & BDD test framework a la RSpec/JSpec which uses a describe-it syntax and moves testing in PHP one step forward.
wondercms
Fast, responsive, single user flat file CMS. Built with PHP and jQuery.
viber-bot-php
PHP bot interface to work with Viber API.
photo-blog
The Photo Blog Application based on Laravel 5 and Vue.js 2 + Prerender.
cypht
Lightweight open source webmail written in PHP and JavaScript.
panthere
A browser testing and web crawling library for PHP and Symfony.
platform
RAD platform for building a business application using the Laravel framework. |
Please help us by clicking to our sponsor:
Protect your PHP Code
Why not try SourceGuardian 11. Click here to download a 14 Day Trial copy. Protect your code using Windows, Linux or Mac and run everywhere with our free Loaders.
|
So, how did you like this issue?
|
|
