On the Delicious Brains site there's a tutorial posted by Ashley showing you how to set up full page caching with personalized dynamic content instead of the usual package caching of static content every user should see. The post is focused on improving the performance of a WordPress-based site.

We’ve talked a lot about WordPress performance here at Delicious Brains and the importance of page caching. However, implementing a page cache on highly dynamic sites or sites which display personalized content isn’t always easy. Previously, we’ve covered Microcaching for dynamic content, but that still doesn’t help when personalized content is involved.

In this article we’re going to tackle that issue. We’re going to use Easy Digital Downloads and the Themedd theme to build a fictitious online store. This will present us with a few problem areas that mean we can’t perform page caching out-of-the-box.

The tutorial starts by outlining the issues that come up with traditional caching tools and dynamic content. It then gets into the changes required to make it work with the Simple Cache plugin. It shows the code involved in splitting the caching functionality by generic, static page caches and how to inject the dynamic content cache back into the page when a user-specific resource is requested.

In her latest post Anna Filina proposes that full test coverage is an impractical way to measure the quality of your software. It can provide a false sense of security, even if the tests are poorly written.

Many developers claim that to achieve high quality software, developers must create automated tests that ensure that all possible execution routes have been covered. This is also known as full path coverage. I will argue that different types of software require different testing approaches and that full path coverage is impractical in almost every case. Too many tests simply create clutter.

She looks at how it's impractical to expect that all tests will be written efficiently or even correctly. Even simple tests are enough to show up on code coverage reports but may only be painting part of the picture. She also notes that not all software can be tested the same way - things like APIs require different testing skills/methods than something like consumer software.

In the end, there are no exact rules on how much to test. The most important thing to keep in mind is that writing tests for the sake writing tests is futile and costly. [...] Focus on building great software. Tests are a tool to make it better. Just don’t overdo it.

The php|architect team has officially announced the latest in their PHP training offerings to the public - a full classroom training session in the Chicago area - PHP Full Immersion.

The courses will take place starting January 2006 and be based on an extended, 4-day version of our popular PHP Essentials class.

The class teaches you how to program in PHP 5 in a 4 day course with information ranging from the basics up to advanced topics including XML, web services, and OOP programming. The days are broken up into six hour chunks, building in complexity as each day progresses. The cost for the course is $1995.99 USD/$2395.19 CAD.

They're also offering a special package for anyone not in the Chicago area to help with travel and lodging for $299 in top of the cost of the class. Check out the course's website for complete information.

Classes are coming up quick - January 30th, 2007 and February 27th, 2007 - so get your registration in now!

The php|architect team has officially announced the latest in their PHP training offerings to the public - a full classroom training session in the Chicago area - PHP Full Immersion.

The courses will take place starting January 2006 and be based on an extended, 4-day version of our popular PHP Essentials class.

The class teaches you how to program in PHP 5 in a 4 day course with information ranging from the basics up to advanced topics including XML, web services, and OOP programming. The days are broken up into six hour chunks, building in complexity as each day progresses. The cost for the course is $1995.99 USD/$2395.19 CAD.

They're also offering a special package for anyone not in the Chicago area to help with travel and lodging for $299 in top of the cost of the class. Check out the course's website for complete information.

Classes are coming up quick - January 30th, 2007 and February 27th, 2007 - so get your registration in now!

Continuing on from his previous post, Davey Shafik has posted a more complete look at his Zend_Service_Server paackage.

Well, after my tease the other day, let me announce the official proposal for Zend_Service_Server: Zend_Service_Server Proposal.

The proposal mentions an "automated SOAP/XML-RPC/REST server that will expose any code using any of the above protocols. Zend_Service_Server will also generate human-readable documentation." It lists out the requirements, dependencies, and the method of operation (including sample cases with code).

Continuing on from his previous post, Davey Shafik has posted a more complete look at his Zend_Service_Server paackage.

Well, after my tease the other day, let me announce the official proposal for Zend_Service_Server: Zend_Service_Server Proposal.

The proposal mentions an "automated SOAP/XML-RPC/REST server that will expose any code using any of the above protocols. Zend_Service_Server will also generate human-readable documentation." It lists out the requirements, dependencies, and the method of operation (including sample cases with code).