You launched a hobby project and then it starts to get some traction. What next? How do you get a more solid foundation under your app when it comes to database hosting? In this episode, we discuss the common phases we see a database go through during an app's life. And if you'd love some help moving your database or tackling performance issues, give us a call ..read more

Interfaces are a great tool for writing maintainable applications, but it is possible to go "too far" with abstraction. Or maybe, it's a bad use of time to write an abstraction up front before you really know you need it. We discuss some trade-offs and examples. (00:00) - Life before interfaces in PHP (02:30) - Going too far with interfaces (04:45) - A discussion with payment gateways (07:30) - Abstracting the database as another trap (09:15) - Laravel makes good use of interfaces (10:05) - Silly bit Need some perspective on your Laravel project? We offer a code review service. Get in touch ..read more

When you're writing a test it can be so tempting to just "tweak" some app code to make it easier to write that test, but we discuss why that might not be a good idea. We also talk about some app changes while writing tests that are beneficial to the overall project. (00:00) - Sometimes changing code makes testing easier (01:30) - Different types of code changes (02:45) - An example with Laravel jobs (04:30) - A time when it's okay to change code while testing (08:50) - Avoid problems by writing tests earlier (09:30) - Silly bit Don't "compromise" on testing. See how we can help level up you ..read more

Do your eyes glaze over when someone mentions singletons or factories? We'll try to not to be boring as we explain the benefits of design patterns. Sign up for our free Laravel newsletter and learn something new in 2 minutes or less ..read more

Ever feel like your Blade views are getting too logic-heavy? What logic belongs in the view, and what logic would be better somewhere else? We use a recent PR discussion to talk through these points. (00:00) - Trying to keep logic out of the Blade view (02:00) - Using the simplest form of logic (03:45) - Business logic doesn't belong in the view layer (04:15) - Condition moved into the controller (05:20) - Secondary benefit of testing Check out the Mastering Laravel YouTube channel ..read more

When new tools and packages come out, there is usually some buzz around the launch, and how it solves all the problems of the old tool. Should you switch? How do you know when it's worth it? What are the potential downsides of switching? We talk through a couple examples and share how we approach these decisions Want to see what our coding standard looks like? Toss a coin in the jar if you enjoyed this episode. We really appreciate it ..read more

Seeders seem pretty straightforward. It's a way to generate data. But how should you use them in your app and what different purposes do they serve? We talk through our approach to seeders and how we use them in a few different contexts. (00:00) - Diving into how we use seeders in our applications (01:40) - Should a seeder create users? (04:30) - Using seeders in multiple contexts (09:50) - The one time we might use seeders with tests (11:50) - Silly bit Would you like some expert help on your Laravel application ..read more

Is there some particular tool or technology that just makes you mad? Maybe it's the way CSS behaves or how some browsers work. Don't just get mad, dig in and learn it thoroughly. We talk about how we've done that and how it helped. (00:00) - Once again, Aaron reads the docs (02:30) - Recognizing when you don't know something (03:30) - Approaches for learning Javascript and CSS (04:20) - What is the manual for Javascript/CSS? (07:13) - Joel learning CSS hands-on (09:55) - Learning through repetition (12:00) - Keep an eye on tech that makes you annoyed (13:23) - Silly bit Wow, 90 episodes in ..read more

We see a lot of different projects, but it's pretty rare to find one that's well-documented and internally consistent. Why does that matter? And how can you make things more consistent without spending a lot of time on it? (00:00) - We like keeping things tidy in our projects (01:20) - Have a README, please (03:30) - Is there a business case for consistency across projects? (05:30) - An example with Docker build speeds in CI (06:50) - Consistency in naming business concepts (09:45) - Silly bit Short, practical Laravel tips delivered fresh to your inbox. Sign up today ..read more

How do you like to upgrade your app when the next new major version of Laravel comes out? Aaron and Joel share two different approaches they've used, and what added benefits you get from doing a version upgrade. Need help getting tests on your Laravel app before upgrading ..read more