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9037 views · 5 years ago
When PHP Frameworks Suck

INTRO

If you are working as a PHP software developer, there is an extremely high chance that all of your application, you’re currently working on, using frameworks of any kind.
PHP community developers of all levels worship frameworks since there are big historical and practical reasons for that.

Historical reasons

Since early PHP versions, developers were disreputable because not everybody considered PHP as a programming language, similar to JavaScript a couple of years ago. While strong type language existed decades ago, PHP continues to be soft type since now, only in version 7 basic types were introduced. There is also a matter of the fact that you can script in PHP without using a single object.

But that opened a space for frameworks to step in and introduce themselves as a tool or standard which will shape projects, give them right and order, introduce structure and rules.
And finally, they did. Frameworks are good examples of nice structures, using all available new features PHP offers with every version, enforcing some good practice, etc.

Practical reasons

The framework offers a lot of common problems already solved. They offer a nice ecosystem for other developers to contribute and plug their components. There is a lot of online resources for learning and stay updated about any particular framework. Also, what every framework community tries very hard, is to make setup and usage easy.

WHEN PHP FRAMEWORKS SUCKS

I recently had the opportunity to give a talk on a conference and one meetup about why PHP framework sometimes sucks. Sometimes things we see in framework tutorials does not seem to be very much aligned with some object-oriented standards we are striving to enforce, and with basic clean code guidelines. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with using a framework, if you use it right.

This article is the first "pilot" article in this series. In every new blog in this series, we will go more in-depth about every specific topic I covered during my presentation.
I'm very excited to share this knowledge, as I saw many developers suffer from bonded-to-framework disease.

https://twitter.com/damnjan/status/1058306144458956800

I won’t spend much time here on any particular framework discussion. This series will be just a guide on how to unbind yourself from frameworks and use them as a tool, instead of being independent.

**Here is the link to the presentation slides.**
9655 views · 5 years ago
Conferences are always looking for speakers - it can be hard to keep track of them all and the requirements they have. I wanted to put together this quick guide to make it easy for you to apply. Make sure to apply because as Wayne Gretzky said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”!!!

phpDay 2019

First we have phpDay 2019 which will take place on May 10 & 11 at Hotel San Marco in Verona, Italy. Some facts about this call for papers:
*Submission deadline: February 4, 2019
*Submit via: https://cfp.phpday.it/
* For more info on the conference: https://2019.phpday.it/
* Twitter: (@phpday)
* Speaker package includes: Full conference pass (jsDay + phpDay), speaker dinner the first night, lunch, reception and activities included in regular conference.
* For speakers remote to the Area: A refund of up to €200 for travel costs (or €500 from US or extra-EU), 2 complimentary hotel nights (+1 hotel night for speakers presenting multiple talks or US/extra-EU) and Taxi fare from/to the airport.
*In Submission: make sure your talk title and abstract define the exact topic you want to talk about and what you hope people will learn from the session.
*Talk Ideas: APIs (REST, SOAP, etc.), Architectures, Continuous Delivery, Databases, Development, Devops, Frameworks, Internals, PHP 7.x / PHP 8, Security, Testing and UI/UX.

ScotlandPHP

Next we have ScotlandPHP which will take place on November 8 & 9 at Edinburgh International Conference Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.
*Submission deadline: April 22, 2019
*Submit via: https://cfs.scotlandphp.co.uk/
* For more info on the conference: https://conference.scotlandphp.co.uk/
* Twitter: (@scotlandphp)
* Speaker package: Full conference pass, lunch, receptions and activities included in regular conference.
* For speakers remote to the Area: Complimentary airfare/travel, 2 complimentary hotel nights and we'll pick you up and drop you off to/from the airport so you don't have to worry about it.
* Speakers will be provided with a projector, a wireless lapel microphone and a screen for their presentation (size depends on the room). Speakers should bring any equipment they need to connect to projectors (VGA). It is also suggested that you reduce your dependency on the in-house internet connection as possible. We will however provide HDMI and Mini Display Port connections for all speakers on request. If you need something different or your selected talk needs audio equipment just let us know. We'll work it out.
* Looking for talks and workshops (November 8th).
*Talk Ideas: Virtualization and environments, Javascript, Alternate PHP run-times, PHP internals, Development principles, Security, Mobile-first design, Testing (unit, functional, etc.), Version control, User Experience/Usability, Building APIs (REST, SOAP, whatever), Continuous Integration, Framework-related topics, and Professional development.

Global diversity CFP day

In 2019 there will be numerous workshops hosted around the globe encouraging and advising newbie speakers to put together your very first talk proposal and share your own individual perspective on any subject of interest to people in tech.
* Twitter: (@gdcfpday)
*Save the Date: March 2, 2019
*Register here: https://www.globaldiversitycfpday.com/?utm_source=scotphp

CoderCruise

Then there is CoderCruise which will take place on August 19-23. It's a cruise that takes off from Port Canaveral, Florida and goes to the Bahamas.
* Twitter: (@codercruise)
*Submission deadline: March 3, 2019
*Submit via: https://www.papercall.io/codercruise-2019
* For more info on the conference: https://www.codercruise.com/
* This is a polyglot conference so looking for speakers on a wide variety of languages (PHP, JavaScript, Java, Python, etc.) and on various tech topics.

PHP Conference Asia 2019

There is also PHP Conference Asia 2019, which will take place on June 24-25 at Microsot Singapore.
*Submission deadline: March 8, 2019
*Submit via: https://cfp.phpconf.asia/
* For more info on the conference: https://2019.phpconf.asia/
* Twitter: (@PHPConfAsia)
* Speaker package includes: Speaker package: Full conference pass, lunch, receptions and activities included in regular conference. We'll pick you up and drop you off to/from the airport so you don't have to worry about it. Speakers' dinner on the first evening of the conference (24th June 2019). Transport to and from the conference venue will be included
* For speakers remote to the Area: 2 complimentary hotel nights and
we can consider providing grants to partially cover the air-fare for speakers who might have financial difficulties. This is on a case-by-case basis.
* Speakers will be provided with a projector, a wireless hand-held microphone and a screen for their presentation. Speakers should prepare their slides in 4x3 aspect ratio. Speakers should bring any equipment they need to connect to projectors (HDMI). It is also suggested that you reduce your dependency on the in-house internet connection as possible.
*In Submission: Make sure your talk title and abstract define the exact topic you want to talk about and what you hope people will learn from the session.
*Talk Ideas: Virtualization and environments, Javascript, Alternate PHP run-times, PHP internals, Development principles, Security, Mobile-first design, Testing (unit, functional, etc.), Version control, User Experience/Usability, Building APIs (REST, SOAP, whatever), Continuous Integration, Framework-related topics, and Professional development.

Cascadia PHP

Another conference to apply to is Cascadia PHP, which will take place on September 19-21 at University Place Hotel & Conference Center in Portland, Oregon.
*Submission deadline: April 15, 2019
*Submit via: https://cfp.cascadiaphp.com/
* For more info on the conference: https://www.cascadiaphp.com/venue
* Twitter: (@CascadiaPHP)
* Speaker package includes: Speaker package: Full conference pass, lunch, receptions and activities included in regular conference. For speakers remote to the Area: Complimentary airfare/travel, 2 complimentary hotel nights and we'll pick you up and drop you off to/from the airport so you don't have to worry about it.
Speakers will be provided with a projector, a wireless lapel microphone and a screen for their presentation (size depends on the room). Speakers should bring any equipment they need to connect to projectors (VGA). It is also suggested that you reduce your dependency on the in-house internet connection as possible.
*In Submission: make sure your talk title and abstract define the exact topic you want to talk about and what you hope people will learn from the session.
*Talk Ideas: PHP internals, Version control, Framework-related topics, Building APIs (REST, SOAP, whatever), Mobile-first design, Professional development, Testing (unit, functional, etc.), Alternate PHP run-times, Development principles, Continuous Integration, Getting involved in the PHP community, User Experience/Usability, Technology at large, Security, Connecting to Different APIs, Development Tools, Virtualization and environments, Javascript, Modern hosting practices, Language Features, Databases, Refactoring legacy applications, Running/contributing to open source projects, AI and AR, and User Groups.

Nomad PHP

Last but not least - this is an ongoing call for papers. This is perfect if you want to present from the comfort of your office, home or really wherever you are. It’s via RingCentral meetings and will be live and recorded. This is for none other than Nomad PHP.
* Twitter: (@nomadphp)
* Deadline: Anytime :D
* Talk length: 45 - 60 minutes.
* Talks should be unique to Nomad PHP and not available in video format online.
* Talk should not be recorded or made available elsewhere online for at least 3 months following your talk.
* The talk will be featured on our page and promoted via social media.
* Speakers will receive a financial stipend.
* Upon being selected we will reach out with further details.
*Talk ideas: AI & Machine Learning, APIs, Containerization, Databases, DevOps, Documentation, Frameworks, Performance, Security, Serverless, Testing, Tools, Upgrading/ Modernization, and more.
*Submit here: https://www.papercall.io/nomadphp
Now that you have some information - make sure to apply to all of these options! Can't wait to see all of your awesome talks you present :D!
6142 views · 5 years ago
Press Release

To say that we have been hard at work here at Nomad PHP, or that I'm excited about these three announcements would be a tremendous understatement. Over the past several months, behind the scenes, we've been working to bring even more features and benefits to Nomad PHP - these have already included unlimited streaming of all past meetings and access to PHP Architect.

Available today, however, you'll also have access to online, live workshops - as well as soon have the ability to stream select PHP conferences live, and finally to prove the knowledge you have gained through our online certification.

Online, Live Workshops

Like our online meetings, we are excited to announce that available today you can participate in online, live, and interactive workshops. Our first workshop will feature Michael Stowe, author of Undisturbed REST: a guide to Designing the Perfect API as he demonstrates how to build the perfect API using modern technologies and techniques.

Additional workshops will be announced as we continue, with a minimum of one workshop per quarter. These workshops will be part of your Nomad PHP subscription, and will be recorded for later viewing.

Nomad PHP Certification

With the many changes impacting the PHP ecosystem, we're proud to announce the ability to prove your knowledge with our online certification. Each certification is made up numerous, randomly selected questions to be completed within a specific time frame. Depending on the exam it may or may not be proctored, but all exams monitor user activity to ensure compliance.

To pass the exam, a passing grade (specified on each exam) must be completed for each section within the allotted time frame. Failure to complete or pass any section will result in a failing grade for the entire exam.

Upon completion, you will receive a digital certification with verification to post on LinkedIn or your website, as well as having your Nomad PHP updated to show the passed certification.

Initial certification exams will include PHP Developer Level I, PHP Engineer Level II, and API Specialist Level I. The PHP Developer exam will cover core components of PHP, the Engineer will cover a broad spectrum of topics including modern technologies, and the API Specialist will cover REST design and architecture practices.

All three exams will be available by January 31, 2019, and will be included with a Nomad PHP subscription.

Stream Select PHP Conferences Live

One of the primary goals of Nomad PHP is to bring the community together, and allow users all over the country to participate in conference level talks. What better way to do this than to bring community conferences online?

Like our traditional talks, these conferences and select conference sessions will be live-streamed as part of your Nomad PHP subscription, allowing you to participate in real-time with in-person conference attendees.

The first conference to be streamed will be DayCamp4Developers: Beyond Performance on January 18, 2018. Additional conferences to be streamed will be announced shortly.

Community and Corporate Sponsorships

With these new additions to Nomad PHP, now is the perfect time to take advantage of our new Community and Corporate sponsorships.

Your support of Nomad PHP not only makes all the above possible, but allows Nomad PHP to continue to serve and give back the community. We're proud, that despite operating at a loss, to have already contributed over$4,000 to the PHP community in the last 5 months.

To learn more about the sponsorship and community opportunities we have available, please visit our Advertising section.

Other Ways to Support Nomad PHP

Of course, while financial support helps us keep afloat and do more for the community, there are even more, and just as important ways to support Nomad PHP. Please consider linking to Nomad PHP, or sharing the service with your friends.
7674 views · 5 years ago
Iterator in PHP

Every time I see this
$users = [new User(), new User()];

I see a lost opportunity to use Iterator.

Why Iterators?

Collections are an awesome way to organize your previously no-named array. There is a couple of reasons why you should use iterators. One of reason stays for behavior, you can specify exact behavior on standard calls such as next, current, valid etc. Other reason could be that you want to ensure that collection contains an only specific type of an object.

Understand a suffer from using an array of unknown value types.
Very common in the PHP world arrays are used to store all kind of data, in many dimensions in many nested forms. Arrays introduced infinite flexibility to the developer, but because of that, they become very evil.

Example:

- Your function (getUsers) returns an array of User objects.
- Another function (setUsersToActiveState) using getUsers output array and set all users active status to true.
- setUsersToActiveState loop through the array and expect to call a specific method on array item. For example, the method name is getActiveStatus.
- If given array is an array of desired objects which have a callable method getActiveStatus, all fine. But if not exception will be thrown.
- How we can ensure that given array is always an array of objects of a specific type?

public function getUsers(): array
{

return $userArray;
}

public function setUsersToActiveState()
{
$users = $this->getUsers();

foreach ($users as $user) {
if(!$user->getActiveStatus()) {
$user->setActiveStatus(true);
}
}
}

There immediately two problems occurred.
    . One is the problem of type. Our IDE doesn't know what's inside array of $users, so because of that IDE can't suggest us how to use $user element. (I put this comment block above foreach, it works for phpStorm and I guess for some other IDEs)
    . Your colleagues! How they possibly know what's inside array if there is no any hint.
    . Bonus problem, getUsers can return literally any array and there won't be warning in the system.

Solution



class UsersCollection implements \IteratorAggregate
{

private $users = [];

public function getIterator() : UserIterator
{
return new UserIterator($this);
}

public function getUser($position)
{
if (isset($this->users[$position])) {
return $this->users[$position];
}

return null;
}

public function count() : int
{
return count($this->users);
}

public function addUser(User $users)
{
$this->users[] = $users;
}
}

class UserIterator implements \Iterator
{

private $position = 0;


private $userCollection;

public function __construct(UsersCollection $userCollection)
{
$this->userCollection = $userCollection;
}

public function current() : User
{
return $this->userCollection->getUser($this->position);
}

public function next()
{
$this->position++;
}

public function key() : int
{
return $this->position;
}

public function valid() : bool
{
return !is_null($this->userCollection->getUser($this->position));
}

public function rewind()
{
$this->position = 0;
}
}

Tests

Off course there is the tests to ensure that our Collection and Iterator works like a charm. For this example I using syntax for PHPUnit framework.

class UsersCollectionTest extends TestCase
{

public function testUsersCollectionShouldReturnNullForNotExistingUserPosition()
{
$usersCollection = new UsersCollection();

$this->assertEquals(null, $usersCollection->getUser(1));
}


public function testEmptyUsersCollection()
{
$usersCollection = new UsersCollection();

$this->assertEquals(new UserIterator($usersCollection), $usersCollection->getIterator());

$this->assertEquals(0, $usersCollection->count());
}


public function testUsersCollectionWithUserElements()
{
$usersCollection = new UsersCollection();
$usersCollection->addUser($this->getUserMock());
$usersCollection->addUser($this->getUserMock());

$this->assertEquals(new UserIterator($usersCollection), $usersCollection->getIterator());
$this->assertEquals($this->getUserMock(), $usersCollection->getUser(1));
$this->assertEquals(2, $usersCollection->count());
}

private function getUserMock()
{
}
}


class UserIteratorTest extends MockClass
{

public function testCurrent()
{
$iterator = $this->getIterator();
$current = $iterator->current();

$this->assertEquals($this->getUserMock(), $current);
}


public function testNext()
{
$iterator = $this->getIterator();
$iterator->next();

$this->assertEquals(1, $iterator->key());
}


public function testKey()
{
$iterator = $this->getIterator();

$iterator->next();
$iterator->next();

$this->assertEquals(2, $iterator->key());
}


public function testValidIfItemInvalid()
{
$iterator = $this->getIterator();

$iterator->next();
$iterator->next();
$iterator->next();

$this->assertEquals(false, $iterator->valid());
}


public function testValidIfItemIsValid()
{
$iterator = $this->getIterator();

$iterator->next();

$this->assertEquals(true, $iterator->valid());
}


public function testRewind()
{
$iterator = $this->getIterator();

$iterator->rewind();

$this->assertEquals(0, $iterator->key());
}

private function getIterator() : UserIterator
{
return new UserIterator($this->getCollection());
}

private function getCollection() : UsersCollection
{
$userItems[] = $this->getUserMock();
$userItems[] = $this->getUserMock();

$usersCollection = new UsersCollection();

foreach ($userItems as $user) {
$usersCollection->addUser($user);
}

return $usersCollection;
}

private function getUserMock()
{
}
}


Usage


public function getUsers(): UsersCollection
{
$userCollection = new UsersCollection();

foreach ($whatIGetFromDatabase as $user) {
$userCollection->addUser($user);
}
return $userCollection;
}

public fucntion setUsersToActiveState()
{
$users = $this->getUsers();

foreach ($users as $user) {
if(!$user->getActiveStatus()) {
$user->setActiveStatus(true);
}
}
}

As you can see setUsersToActiveState remains the same, we only do not need to specify for our IDE or collagues what type $users variable is.

Extending functionalities

Believe or not you can reuse this two objects and just change names of variables to fit most of the needs. But if you want any more complex functionality, than feel free to add it in iterator or collection.

Example 1


For example, let's say that userCollection accepts only users with age more than 18. Implementation will happen in UsersCollection class in the method addUser.

 public function addUser(User $users)
{
if ($user->getAge() > 18) {
$this->users[] = $users;
}
}

Example 2

You need to add bulk users. Then you can expand your userCollection with additional method addUsers and it might look like this.

public function addUsers(array $users)
{
foreach($users as $user) {
$this->addUser(User $users);
}
}

7527 views · 5 years ago
Now that the Thanksgiving and Black Friday are left behind, we're all back at our desks, some of us having PHPStorm open for the whole day. In this post, I'll say a few words on this beautiful IDE, PHPUnit and XDebug.
You know that unit tests are essential, don't you? So do the PHPStorm developers. This industry-standard level IDE has tons of capabilities for integrating test frameworks and debuggers into your project. Even if you use VMs or containers to run your development environment, chances are they got you covered!

Blind Pew from Treasure Island

I often see even experienced PHP programmers debugging their code with var_dump(), which is obviously not the best way to do it. If you see the code for the first time, if you work with legacy code - step-by-step interactive debugging is the way to go. Sometimes it can save you hours of old school var_dumping.

As of unit tests, I often hear that it's good enough to run tests from the terminal. I even know a guy who runs watch phpunit /path/to/test while developing: this way the test is run every 2 seconds, you switch to the terminal whenever you want to see the latest results and that's it. However, there are certain advantages in running tests from the IDE. First, it's super-handy to launch a test method, test class or a whole folder with tests, just by pressing a hotkey. Second, the test results appear right there, in PHPStorm, with failures and their stack traces, every entry clickable and takes you directly to the file:line where a nasty thing happened. I also find the ability to run a debugger for a unit test, extremely attractive. Test fails, you click on a trace entry, get to a problematic line, place a break point, re-run the test in debug mode - and there you go.

For all those integrations, you will first need to setup the PHP interpreter for the project: Configuring PHP Development Environment. You will find both local and remote interpreter setups. "Local" is the PHP that you have on your workstation, the host machine. "Remote" can be pretty much everything: SSH if your Dev environment runs on a shared sandbox for all developers, docker or docker-compose if you run it using docker containers.

Next step - creating PHPUnit configuration. Go toSettings -> Languages and Frameworks -> PHP -> Test Frameworks. Follow this guide, it has much more information which will be more up-to-date than this post.Don't forget to set Path Mappings for your remote environments! That is, you probably have your project in, say, $HOME/projects/cool-project, but inside a docker or on a remote host it might be located at /app or /var/www, then you have to let PHPStorm know about this.

Once you're done with PHPUnit setup, you can finally run your tests! The default shortcut on my Linux machine isCtrl+Shift+F10 (shortcuts are usually different on Mac though). Place a cursor inside a test method, press the shotcut: PHPStorm will launch PHPUnit withthat particular test method! When the cursor in a scope of test class but not inside a test method - the whole test class will be run. And, you also can select a whole folder with tests, in the project tree and run it, ain't that cool?

A small tip for the docker-compose lovers. When I first set PHPStorm integration with docker-compose and ran the tests, I was quite surprised (unpleasantly) to see that myphp-fpm service that I was connecting to, is gone after the test process is finished. Took me some time to figure out that it's PHPStorm's expected behavior. It stops the target service after it's done testing. A workaround I started to use is as follows: I just add another service calledphpunit which uses a php-fpm or php-cli image, and is not needed by anything except unit testing in PHPStorm.

Now to debugging.


Debugging is like being the detective in a crime movie where you are also the murderer. Filipe Fortes a.k.a. @fortes


Obviously, your PHP interpreter in development environment will need a debugger extension in order for you to debug interactively. PHPStorm support the two most widely used options: XDebug and Zend Debugger. When using docker I usually make a separate Dockerfile for development, using production image as base, then add development tools,XDebug being the most important. Honestly, I've never usedZend Debugger, so have little to tell about its' nuances.

Got an extension? Go to Debugging Ultimate Guide! Debugger settings in PHPStorm are atSettings -> Languages and Frameworks -> PHP -> Debug. Most of the time you don't need to change them.Again, a note for docker-compose users. There is an XDebug setting that allow debugger to resolve the client (PHPStorm) IP address:xdebug.remoteconnect_back_. That's a disappointment but those will not work, at least with a default docker-compose setup. Thing is, all containers in a compose stack are running behind a network proxy provided by docker-compose. That is, the REMOTE_ADDR for all the containers will always be the IP of proxy. A workaround:

* disablexdebug.remoteconnect_back_;
* add.user.ini to the application root folder with the following contents:xdebug.remotehost = 192.168.X.X_ (your machine's IP address in the LAN). It's generally a good idea to exclude.user.ini from VCS control.

As a conclusion: if you still usevardump()_ to debug, stop living in the stone age, upgrade your knowledge and become more productive! If you don't write unit tests, start doing it. If your managers say it's a waste of time, tell them that it's coding without tests that is a waste of time. And, if you find this post of any use, or have an opinion, or a question - please do comment!

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