PHP Engine Explained: an Introduction to the Zend Virtual Machine

This article is an introduction to the most critical parts of the ZendEngine, the Zend virtual machine. A software virtual machine is a program that abstracts the Operating System layers and the architectural differences between machines to provide a higher level API, so that programs are run the same way across every environment. by Julien Pauli

Introduction to Building a Programming Language

All programming languages are built to scratch an itch. Today, we are going to build a limited subset of PHP in JavaScript using Jison. Jison is an interesting tool for us because it does the job of both a lexer and parser compiler. With that in mind, let’s start talking about what is really involved in building your own programming language. by Jacob Mather

In the Shoes of a Hacker. Creating a Cryptovirus for PHP Apps

In this article we will consider, for educational purposes, a simple cryptovirus in PHP. Our cryptovirus will infect a Symfony application and encrypt data such as user-uploaded files using public key cryptography with OpenSSL. We will assume that the virus has been introduced into the system already, and focus only on the cryptoviral attack. We’ll also take a look at how to protect against such attacks. by Raul Fraile

Deploying Symfony Applications

The deployment of web applications is a critical subject that is often ignored, forgotten, or left to the last stages of a project. This can bring negative consequences, from delays in the delivery of the project, to unexpected downtime later in the life of the application. It is very important to plan the deployment stage early on, during the initial phases of design and development, to avoid these and other issues and to improve the overall project experience. by Pablo Godel

Education Station: PHP on Firefox OS

In this month’s edition I want to help make your PHP apps more mobile. Specifically, I’m talking about Firefox OS, released by the same folks who brought us the Firefox browser, Mozilla. I’m going to show you how to make both a basic HTML site and a PHP application available as applications on Firefox OS. by Matthew Setter

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Laravel Tips: Deploying Applications Part 3: The Cloud

The cloud offers an overabundance of virtualized hardware and services. For our use case, we want to quickly launch an environment for executing automated tests or handing software over to the QA team before the next release. Since our goal is to fully automate this process, the ability to launch servers programmatically via an API is important. In this installment of the Deploying Applications series, we will create some Artisan commands that fully automate these tasks, resulting in fast, error-free deployments from the command line. by Dirk Merkel

Community Corner: November 2014

As I write this column, I’m seeing on Twitter that attendees are beginning to arrive at Zendcon. I’m sad to miss it for the first time in five years, but glad to be writing this column about the wonderful PHP ecosystem. by Joe Devon

finally{} Breaking Down Community Walls

I’m writing this article in the days after php[world] concluded. I’m glad that we waited, because it allows me to bring a bit of a wrap-up to what became the overriding theme for the conferences attendees this year. by Eli White

Editorial: Environments

Web sites today have to render nicely on multiple sized screens. Even the REST API you write will be used by smart phones, tablets, and (eventually) your car or refrigerator. The variety of environments where our code is used continues to expand at a rapid pace, and that is just another fact of life we learn to deal with and manage. by Oscar Merida