With the inclusion of Zend Optimizer+ extension in PHP 5.5, the need for better documentation of PHP internals became more evident, so PHP contributors can write extensions that take the most of the core PHP features. That is one of the topics discussed by Manuel Lemos and Ernani Joppert in the episode 35 of the Lately In PHP podcast. They also talked about having more optimized PHP opcodes, some interesting PHP feature proposals that got rejected, as well the article about the top version control systems used by PHP developers.

You can listen to this episode in a few different ways - either through the in-page player, by downloading the mp3 or by watching the video of the recorded Google Hangout session.

In today's episode, I talk a little bit about what it takes to become a better developer. Nobody will ever expect you to know everything, but you better know how to find it...

You can watch the video either in his post or over on YouTube. He also has this and his other videos set up in a playlist if you'd like to see coverage of other topics like design patterns, iterators, dependency injection and prepared statements.

The PHP development process is still a bit frustrating. Many developers hoped that PHP had certain features but those are still missing due to several reasons. One way to see those features happen is to write code to implement the features and then submit the code to the PHP core. However that is not a guaranteed process. Even if you provide the necessary code, other developers may object to the addition of those features and the effort is wasted.

Among the things he lists as features that are desired but not implemented yet are things like:

• Aspect oriented programming
• Annotations
• Class generics
• Introspection of private variables and functions
• Named parameters

There's a summary of each of the features mentioned and in some cases links to RFCs that presented the same ideas. If you're interested in presenting your own ideas to the PHP project for inclusion, you can "demystify" the RFC process by checking out this post from Chris Jones with lots of good suggestions and the flow of how the process (usually) works.

Good code is maintainable, reusable, and testable. The following tips address how you and/or your development team can handle various coding tasks and how to keep everything as neat as possible. I will introduce you to some "best practices" that will help you write better code and help make you and your team happy and efficient.

Among the suggestions on the list, there's things like:

• Use a Coding Standard
• Refactor
• Use Meaningful Names
• Use Automated Build Tools
• Use a Testing Framework

Links are provided in several of the tips to other resources/tools that can provide you with more information about how to use it in your development.

All hail Node.js! Boo PHP! Except there are various things where PHP is better than Node…

His five reasons are:

• Easier to find hosting
• It's easier to get started with PHP
• If your PHP code breaks, it doesn't bring your whole server down
• PHP processes are short lived
• Bigger standard library

There's a few comments on the post already, one noting that some of the points could be turned around to make PHP fall more on the "bad" side.

One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is "How can I become a better developer?" I think that it's a very good question to ask that deserves a good response. But how can you respond to something like that? Becoming a better developer depends so heavily on past experience (where to grow), interests and rationale (why do you want to grow), that it's really hard to answer without a fair bit of discussion. This post reflects my experiences from both my own growth and the growth that I've seen in others.

The things on his list are pretty simple, but they're easy to forget in your day to day development life. Things like being motivated to better yourself, gaining confidence in your abilities, sharing your knowledge and/or becoming a mentor to developers with less experience than you. Interestingly enough, this last one can sometimes teach you a little something about you and your processes too.

I get asked, quite frequently, about how people can be better programmers. Why they're asking me, I have no idea. But what I usually tell them is to be curious and be creative. Waste time. Now, I don't mean "wasting time" by playing Quake (one of the best adrenaline-based games of all time), I mean taking time to learn new things and try new things... sometimes without permission and sometimes before or after normal work hours. (Though not ALL the time. If you always are working you have priority issues).

He recommends working on side projects - ones where you can be free to explore new technologies and ideas that might not fit in the confines of your day to day work. The article from Eric Paley talks about "C level performers", people who may or may not have the experience, but just can't seem to make things happen. Kevin's recommendations can help you break out of this "C" mold and get on the path to not only better yourself as a developer but also make you more equipped for future projects.

No, I'm not talking about own it as in Point 7 - "Do your part", I mean make sure that at the end of the project, you own the project, not your developer.

He mentions two of the aspects you, the client, will need to worry about once the last line of bug free code has been committed and delivered. Be sure that you own the domain name for the project and have a clear understanding of any intellectual property concerns that might come up (what codebase is it built on, who owns the code - client or developer, etc).

I have worked on java web frameworks like JSF, Echo2, Vaadin, Grails and recently Play. Similarly I have worked on Silverlight, ASP.NET and ASP.NET MVC. My conclusion is that, in overall, PHP frameworks beat both java and .NET frameworks in terms of ease of development, deployment and even maintenance- for creating web sites with moderate complexity. Of course, I do not expect you to take my words for granted.

He lists his "top five" reasons why PHP is the better choice over some of the other frameworks mentioned:

• PHP web hosting options are superior
• PHP provides rapid development and instant gratification to developers
• PHP web frameworks provide a complete stack sufficient to develop a great many web sites
• PHP frameworks provide a low barrier of entry for web developers
• No DLL or jar hell

Of course, no article like this is complete without a load of comments from both sides of the fence, so be sure to read up on those for different perspectives.

In this article, I'll share with you ten things I wish I was told when I was just getting started with PHP development, and I'm hoping you'll be able to learn a thing or two if you're just taking your first steps into this awesome web development language.

Suggestions that made their list include:

• Use PHP Core Functions and Classes
• Create a Configuration File
• Always Sanitize Data That Will Go into Your Database
• Don't Over-Comment Your Code
• Use a Good Source Editor to Save You Time
• Connect with Other PHP Developers

Be sure to check out the comments for more great suggestions from other developers.