php[architect]

by John David Anderson

What's all this buzz about MVC frameworks? Why should I choose one above the other? Why look into something else when my current setup works just fine? By the time you get to the end of this article, we hope there'll be a few of you who will trade in your bread-and-butter development for a piece of Cake.

by Mac Newbold

While PHP can do a lot of great things by itself, it can do much more when you add a relational database. Whether you use MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, MicroSoft SQL Server or SQLite, the way you design your schema and build your tables has a big impact on the abilities of your application. By the same token, mistakes in your database structure can be very difficult to fix or overcome. A little bit of careful planning can go a long way.

by Jeof Oyster

There are a number of Web-based applications springing up, and along with them a broad range of Web services and APIs. Can the move from the desktop to the Web really change our working paradigm? In many areas, it already has. Should this mean anything to you, as a PHP developer? Sure. Take Google services, for example...

by Paul Reinheimer

No, you're right, that isn't what SPL really stands for. SPL is an acroynm for the Standard PHP Library, which either says a lot to you or not very much at all. It's a powerful tool, but if php.net feedback is anything to go by you're probably not using it. That's a shame. SPL offers a range of useful interfaces and classes that can empower your objects and speed your development. Let php|a training expert Paul Reinheimer educate you in the ways of the OO elite.

by Steph Fox

Open-source software is fun, inexpensive... and oddly addictive.

by Matt Zandstra

The whole point of design patterns is that they can be adapted to resolve specific coding problems. Fast forward to a pun on the name of this column, 'Test Pattern'; how could established design patterns usefully be manipulated to test existing OO code?

by Marco Tabini

An ode to Canada, its beautiful landscape, its great people, and its impossibly expensive postal service.