Journey to the Core

Here is my latest editorial for the June 2014 issue of php[architect] magazine:

Journey to the Core

Grab your gear! Does everyone have a torch? Did anyone bring a ten foot pole? Join us on a journey to the center of our profession, the focal point of our community…the core of PHP. What actually happens when you run that PHP script? Ever wondered? I know I have, so when Julien (the PHP 5.5/5.6 release manager) offered to give us an inside look at PHP, I was thrilled!

Our first look is at the PHP engine. From the moment your script runs, PHP is hard at work, but what is it doing? Find out in PHP Internal Design. Ever had PHP run out of memory trying to complete an operation? Find out why and what you can do about it in PHP Memory Explained. The last article covers variables. We use them all the time, but do you really know what they are? I do now, thanks to Julien’s PHP Variables article. Join us with this special three-part series and get to know PHP on a deeper level.

Need a little something to make your project easier to manage? Matt’s Education Station column will introduce you to Assetic to help you manage your assets. Is Laravel running a bit slowly for you? Dirk will get you up and flying with Laravel’s flexible caching system. Aaron has a few comments on who you should trust, and Eli finishes things up with a few thoughts on where DevOps used to be, where it is today, and whether or not that’s a good thing.