The CatsWhoCode.com blog has a new post today with what they call super useful PHP snippets that could help you out in a pinch.

Having the right code snippet at the right time can definitely be a life saver for web developers. Today, I’ve compiled 10 really awesome PHP code snippets that will, I hope, be very helpful in your forthcomming developments.

Their list of ten includes bits of code for:

• Super simple page caching (file-based)
• Convert seconds to time (years, months, days, hours...)
• Get current weather using Google API
• Get latitude and longitude from an address
• Save url to PDF

Smashing Magazine has posted a new article from Chris Shiflett and Sean Coates with their rebuttal to the site's previous 10 Advanced Tips article.

In November 2008 we published the article 10 Advanced PHP Tips To Improve Your Programming. Apparently, according to negative comments to the post, it contained some errors and some statements that are just wrong. [...] To solve the problem, we asked Chris Shiflett and Sean Coates, two PHP gurus, to take a closer look at the article, explain its errors and make it perfectly clear what is actually right and wrong in the theory and practice. This article is a professional response to our article published a couple of months ago.

Here's the more accurate descriptions of those tips - what's good and what's bad - as presented by Chris and Sean:

• Use an SQL Injection Cheat Sheet
• Know the Difference Between Comparison Operators
• Shortcut the else
• Drop Those Brackets
• Favor str_replace() Over ereg_replace() and preg_replace()
• Use Ternary Operators
• Memcached
• Use a Framework
• Use the Suppression Operator Correctly
• Use isset() Instead of strlen()

As Matthew Weir O'Phinney points out, David Hansson (of Rails fame) has posted a few comments on what he calls the "immediacy of PHP".

I love the fact that it's all just self-contained. That the language includes so many helpful functions in the box. [...] PHP scales down like no other package for the web and it deserves more credit for tackling that scope.

and to that, Matthew comments:

It's nice to see leaders of projects like Rails having this same attitude. It's a breath of fresh air in the competitive market of web development frameworks.

Cal Evans of the Zend Developer Zone has posted a new book review for one of Sams Publishing's latest PHP-related offerings, "PHP 5 In Practice" by Elliott "Eli" White III (Senior Programmer over at digg.com.

First let me say, if you are new to PHP or programming in general, skip this book. This is not a how to or even a cookbook for simple concepts. To get the most from this book you need to have a firm grounding in programming.

He sets the tone for the rest of the interview right there, noting that most of the book is made up of little examples, helpful bits to fill a need rather than teaching you the basics (or more advanced features) of PHP as a language. Cal spotlights this kind of content by talking about the "binary tree implementation" section. Check out the rest of the review for the full story.

Cal Evans of the Zend Developer Zone has posted a new book review for one of Sams Publishing's latest PHP-related offerings, "PHP 5 In Practice" by Elliott "Eli" White III (Senior Programmer over at digg.com.

First let me say, if you are new to PHP or programming in general, skip this book. This is not a how to or even a cookbook for simple concepts. To get the most from this book you need to have a firm grounding in programming.

He sets the tone for the rest of the interview right there, noting that most of the book is made up of little examples, helpful bits to fill a need rather than teaching you the basics (or more advanced features) of PHP as a language. Cal spotlights this kind of content by talking about the "binary tree implementation" section. Check out the rest of the review for the full story.