Software is built of abstractions layered on top of more abstractions. We, therefore, all do abstract thinking one way or another. But there is one form of abstract thinking which can help us to understand—and communicate—how the whole system works. We’ll use the flow of a river as an analogy to help communicate that type […]

There’s a skill fundamental to software development I’ve always found useful. This skill is essential when working with every programming language, including PHP and when working across PHP frameworks. Like all skills, mastery comes from study and practice. We’ll even discuss how beginners can practice this skill with just HTML and CSS.

This month wraps up our singleton coverage. We’ll see the self registry variant (a self-contained registry pattern implementation). We’ll find ways to test singletons and learn how to test database memoization without requiring an actual database.

This month we’ll take a deep dive into the Singleton Design Pattern. Even though it’s generally considered an anti-pattern, we’ll see useful variations I use time and again