The ORM Delusion
I've used some low-level database interfaces like PDO, and the database interfaces from several frameworks, including Codeigniter, Zend 1, Django, and Laravel, and I've been in the web development...
View ArticleEverything's (potentially) a callable
I'm a big fan of callables in PHP in general. They're an extremely powerful way to build applications out of many different reusable components, in a way that combines the best aspects of...
View ArticleWhy I no longer use the repository pattern
In September 2016, I started a new job after my previous employer went into liquidation. I expected a certain learning curve because I was going from an environment where I'd been the main driver of...
View ArticleWhat I think ChatGPT means for developers
I'm sure you've heard some of the buzz about ChatGPT. There's been examples of it creating a working Wordpress plugin on demand, recreating the Apple website, acting as a Linux terminal, and writing...
View ArticleTwo techniques for handling recursive relationships in MySQL
When modelling users in a hierarchical organization, it's common to need to retrieve the line manager or subordinates of a given user. In MySQL, two of the techniques that can be used to handle these...
View ArticleWhy (nearly) every PHP class you write should be abstract or final
If your introduction to object-oriented PHP was anything like mine, inheritance was probably touted as one of the biggest advantages. It allowed you to easily extend existing code with minimal effort,...
View ArticleWhy I haven't posted much this year
If you regularly read this blog, you may have noticed that I haven't posted much this year. There's a reason for this - a lot of my spare time has been taken up working on a new personal project, which...
View ArticleRetiring Laravel Azure Storage
Today I abandoned my most popular open source package, Laravel Azure Storage. According to Packagist, it's been installed nearly two million times down the years, and it has 221 stars and 45 forks on...
View ArticleSo... I learned Drupal
Late last year, at work they were looking for people to train up and get certified on working with Drupal so we could bid for jobs working with it. I can't say I'm a big fan of certification in general...
View ArticleUsing Dolt with Lando
For some years now, I've been using Lando as my main development environment at work. It's a convenient and flexible way to work with most stacks I might need to use, as it's Docker-based it's more...
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