Editor Bytes – Lambda PHP

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Whether you’re on a greenfield project or an archaeological expedition into legacy code, this month we have articles on serverless PHP stacks with AWS, functional PHP in practice, refactoring code, writing APIs, Docker containers, and more.

The greek letter Lambda is used in Physics to represent wavelengths, usually in optics. Being “on the same wavelength” as the rest of your collaborators is crucial to any project’s success. Sometimes that means you all understand the technical underpinnings of your chosen framework or programming technique. Other times, it means being ready to change things up when the world, or project requirements, shift around you. In any case, it’s worthwhile to reconsider how you’re solving problems in light of recent advances and tools available to you.

Serverless computing platforms open up one such avenue and are a departure from traditional application hosting. And while we might poke fun at the name—there’s still a server somewhere—that’s no reason to ignore it when it makes sense for a particular task. The same goes for functional programming approaches, which require practice to master but can complement object-oriented patterns to reduce errors and improve maintainability.

In this issue, Benjamin Smith says The New LAMP Stack is Serverless and provides guidance on getting a PHP application ready for it. In Refactoring—Does This Code Spark Joy?, Juciellen Cabrera looks at why and how to approach refactoring when you’re programming. To continue last month’s look at functional programming, Camilo Payan contributes Fiendish Functions—Filtering Fact From Fiction with a practical look at using functional programming with object-oriented code.

In our first column, Sherri Wheeler looks at Hashtag Creation in PHP Puzzles. She shows her string-oriented solution, and I think you can also solve it using functions and no loops. Over in The Workshop: Using Sail to Understand Local Development with Docker, Joe Ferguson dives back into containers and showing what goes into configuring one. Eric Mann is Cooking with Credentials in Security Corner with an evergreen look at how to store credentials and even shows how to use browser APIs to send already-hashed passwords. Are you ready for When the World Shifts? Edward Barnard shares his experience when your career needs to adapt and plucks two examples from crypto history. This month’s Community Corner is an Interview with Matthew Weier O’Phinney by Eric Van Johnson. He learns how @mwop got started with PHP and where the Laminas project is going. Over in Education Station: APIs of the World, Chris Tankersley gives an overview of standards, old and new, for writing APIs that programs can use to communicate. finally{}, Beth Tucker Long explains a recent need that reminded her When the Wrong Answer is Right. If you’re looking for application hosting, don’t discard any options before reading her column.

Air date	March 22, 2021
Hosted by	Oscar Merida
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