“A picture is worth a thousand words” (Fred R. Barnard) is a well-known phrase, used since 1921 in many different disciplines. Being able to present data in different ways, not just in text-based form, enables the reader to consume more information quickly and understand complex relationships more easily. It encourages the reader to use different cognitive processes and engages the reader by stimulating different sections of his brain. Because of this, visual data can change the user experience significantly. This article explores a way to build online mapping applications and to visualize data using the SilverStripe CMS and its web framework. –by Rainer Spittel

In the following article, we outline the reasons behind Pagoda Box’s architecture. In a nutshell, we wanted performance and simplicity, at a lower cost to users. We also wanted it to be fun, for us and developers. –by Tyler Flint

FRAPI makes building APIs quick and easy, but with Phing, you can create a complete FRAPI development workflow. –by Clay Hinson

Complex software demands a complex infrastructure, and today’s application demands are getting higher every day. We, as developers, are familiar with our side of things and know how to handle it, but how do we manage the infrastructure? Can we just leave everything in the capable hands of our system administration colleagues, or are there other – and better – ways to deal with this increasing complexity? It turns out: there is a way, Puppet, and it will affect you as a developer more than you may think. –by Joshua Thijssen

So what is performance? Is it raw speed, bottleneck analysis, maximizing output and minimizing computational expense? Or is it something else, something holistic and overarching? –by Matthew Setter

When is a bug going to surface? When is someone’s code going to hit a bug that hides itself from most developers? We want to enjoy using software. Bugs prevent us from doing so. They hit us when we hit our deadlines. We spend hours where we had planned to spend minutes… We should fight bugs. Always. –by Bart McLeod

Our Impact Awards are back! Help us crown the projects and products that have made the biggest difference in the PHP world, and celebrate them with the recognition they deserve. Vote Today!

In this age of over-sharing, perhaps we can take a lesson from the past, when benignly-collected data was used to organize genocide. –by Marco Tabini

PHP developers must love their jobs to give so much back so freely. –by Elizabeth Tucker Long