Brent — Curator of Stitcher’s Community Feed, a community-driven, hand-curated content aggregator highlighting thoughtful, high-quality writing from across the web. The feed focuses on software engineering, open source, web development, infrastructure, and the human side of building technology. Readers can browse recent picks, follow via RSS, or contribute their own suggestions.
239 articles from this blog
A developer's analysis of using attributes for routing in PHP, weighing pros and cons and proposing solutions for scaling.
PHP 8.1 introduces the 'new in initializers' feature, allowing the use of `new` expressions in parameter defaults, attributes, and more.
A reflection on how frameworks are born from revolutionary ideas and how popularity can lead to their eventual decline, using examples like Laravel and Joda Time.
Explains PHP 8.1's new readonly properties for creating immutable data transfer and value objects, comparing code examples from older PHP versions.
A software engineer draws parallels between the perfect, durable design of an IKEA clock and the principles of good software design.
A response to Matthias Noback's blog post on PSR abstractions, discussing their role in PHP framework interoperability and the value of standardized interfaces.
A nuanced look at using named arguments in PHP open source projects, addressing maintainer concerns about backwards compatibility and cleaner syntax.
A programmer questions the inconsistency in using fully qualified class names in doc blocks versus real PHP types, exploring rational thinking in coding habits.
Argues that static analysis can replace runtime type checks in PHP, enabling features like generics without performance cost.
A programmer shares his method for providing realistic project estimates by multiplying optimistic timelines and using ranges to account for unforeseen changes.
A developer's overview of impactful new features in PHP 8.1, including enums, array unpacking, and readonly properties.
Explores the benefits of an event-driven architecture over linear code when building a gamification system for a tech platform.
Explains the limitation of cloning readonly properties in PHP 8.1 and introduces a package to work around it using a `with()` method.
A proposal for using typed request classes in Laravel to combine validation and data representation, eliminating the need for separate DTOs.
Analysis of PHP version usage statistics from July 2021, showing adoption trends and a discussion on upgrading to PHP 8.
Argues for opinionated software design over excessive configurability, based on experience with an in-house framework.
A developer explores creating config builders for PHP frameworks like Laravel, discussing configuration file annoyances and potential solutions.
Announcing Laravel Event Sourcing v5, a major release featuring consistent event handling, event queries, and aggregate partials.
Explores the proposed RFC for multi-line short closures in PHP 8.1, detailing their syntax, benefits, and addressing common counter-arguments.
Explores existing PHP parallel processing solutions (AmpPHP, ReactPHP, Guzzle) and introduces a simpler, custom approach for running functions concurrently.
