All entries of my technical and business blog

Reasons Why Not to Use Doctrine with Laravel

Nov 16, 2019 laravel php

Currently, there are two pretty common packages for interacting with your database: Eloquent and Doctrine. Eloquent is part of Laravel and Doctrine, while used often on its own, is usually referenced with Symfony. If you’ve come to read this article, you’re probably versed in Doctrine and wondering why you can’t just - or shouldn’t just - use it with your new Laravel project.

Stop Using Sqlite in Laravel Unit Tests

Nov 6, 2019 php testing

tldr; Using Sqlite in Laravel (or most PHP apps) for unit testing causes false positives in unit tests. Things that work will not work when you move to production and use a different db like MySQL. Instead, spin up a test database that is the same tech and engine as your application will be.

What License to Use for Private Software

When it comes to Open Source Software, you have a number of choices to make for licensing your software. When you provide a license for your software, you, as the copyright holder, are giving various types of permissions and warranties for the use of this software. You might even define the way it can be used and if modifications have to be submitted back to you. But, what do you “license” software that is closed, paid or private software that you don’t want anyone else to use?

The End of Possessor

Before I begin a security audit, I try to make sure that the client owns their website. Normally, this is pretty easy and obvious. However, sometimes it takes a little bit more work. That’s why I had thought of launching the tool called Possessor.

Mark WIP Features for Better UX/Customer Acceptance

Aug 22, 2019 javascript misc-web testing

When you’re trying to demo your work in progress to a client, it can be difficult to know where to draw the line between working and non-working features. On one hand, you want to show them some context so they can understand the current feature. But, then what happens when they invariably try to explore the context (which may not be done)? Let me put that in a more concrete example.

Remember to Review Your Package Code for Security

Aug 12, 2019 laravel php security

Open source software is wonderful for many reasons. One of the best is we can see and inspect the software for vulnerabilities. But, far too many people actually do this. Let me demonstrate, using a Laravel package, how this lack of review might backfire and cause you grief.

I Didn't Launch My Start Up - and That's OK.

Jul 15, 2019 business

I deal with a lot of start-up founders. One thing that I’ve noticed from a lot of them is that they feel like no one understands the struggles they’re going through. A lot have talked about being lonely or trying to find people to count on. Because of this, I had an idea - I wanted to help them with an online tool. I came up with the idea for StartUp Tribe.

2019 Goals: What am I Working On?

Jun 10, 2019 business

2019 was a great year, learned a lot. Unfortunately, The Dev Manager and StartUp Tribe are no longer active.

It’s about halfway through 2019 and I think it’s time to reflect a little bit on my professional goals.