On his blog today Brandon Savage has posted his own interpretation/application of the infamous Joel Test (from Joel Spolsky) to PHP and web development:

When Joel wrote the test, there wasn’t much development for the web; the little that was being done wasn’t being done in any of the modern languages that we write in today. In fact, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Gmail, and LinkedIn hadn’t even been invented yet. Today’s world makes heavy use of web-based software (the term "software as as a service" keeps floating around). And so, it is necessary to update Joel’s test in order to properly apply it to web development. This has been done by some folks, but I will do it again, mostly because I disagree with them.

The test asks questions about source control use, well-defined specifications, quiet working conditions, unit testing and bug fixing techniques. He works through each of these, sometimes just giving an update to the original discussion and others talking about how he disagrees with the concept all together (like having detailed specs).

The LAMP package (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) is great for a lot of the developer world out there, but sometimes needs change and people (and their software) just need to adapt to a different environment. It's nice to know, though, that there are good alternatives to these four pieces of software and this new article from Informit.com will put you in tune with them.

Most Free Software users are familiar with the Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP stack—the LAMP configuration—a widely deployed set of software used for a large number of Internet and intranet applications. Although the LAMP configuration is the most frequently used, it's not always the best tool for any given job. This article proposes some alternatives.

Here's some of the alternatives they mention:

• Linux - OpenBSD, Solaris, FreeBSD, and NetBSD
• Apache - LightTPD, Yaws, and Tux
• MySQL - PostgreSQL, SQLite, Firebird, Apache Derby
• PHP - CGI/FastCGI, Seaside/Smalltalk, Ruby on Rails, GNUstepWeb

For each of the alternative technologies, they mention briefly what it is and how it can be use to replace that one of the "final four".

The LAMP package (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) is great for a lot of the developer world out there, but sometimes needs change and people (and their software) just need to adapt to a different environment. It's nice to know, though, that there are good alternatives to these four pieces of software and this new article from Informit.com will put you in tune with them.

Most Free Software users are familiar with the Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP stack—the LAMP configuration—a widely deployed set of software used for a large number of Internet and intranet applications. Although the LAMP configuration is the most frequently used, it's not always the best tool for any given job. This article proposes some alternatives.

Here's some of the alternatives they mention:

• Linux - OpenBSD, Solaris, FreeBSD, and NetBSD
• Apache - LightTPD, Yaws, and Tux
• MySQL - PostgreSQL, SQLite, Firebird, Apache Derby
• PHP - CGI/FastCGI, Seaside/Smalltalk, Ruby on Rails, GNUstepWeb

For each of the alternative technologies, they mention briefly what it is and how it can be use to replace that one of the "final four".