No Compromises

Writing tests that communicate with a third party can be a little tricky, but we've found an approach that balances speed and confidence.

In today's episode, we share that approach and talk through a strategy of how frequently to run tests that talk to the outside world.

• (00:00) - Why would your tests ever talk to an external service?
• (02:30) - What does it mean to have a separate test suite?
• (06:00) - Keeping them separate allows different triggers for running
• (07:00) - When should you run external tests?
• (08:30) - You can't always know when you'll break an external integration
• (11:00) - Check on a schedule?
• (13:00) - Silly bit

I don't have time to write an API spec. We're not a giant team. We don't have external users of our API.

I've said all these things in the past, but in today's episode, we discuss why you should still consider writing a specification for your Laravel API.

• (00:00) - Should you write a spec for your API?
• (01:37) - Thinking through the requirements
• (04:07) - What's in a spec?
• (06:20) - Balancing detail with moving forward
• (08:15) - Who is consuming the spec?
• (09:30) - The spec keeps you honest

Maybe you've tried to add static analysis to your Laravel app and got scared away by all the errors.

In this episode we discuss how we like to introduce PHPStan to large, long-lived projects in a way that doesn't introduce a lot of risk or change.

Would you like help introducing Larastan to your project? That's one of many things we can help you with!

This episode is sponsored by Mailtrap, an Email Delivery Platform that developers love. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IO

Why isn't this working? It can be frustrating when something doesn't work as expected!

In this episode, we talk through a recent issue Joel had with sessions and oauth flows. There are a couple principles that apply more broadly.

Next time you're stuck on something, let us help!

This episode is sponsored by Mailtrap, an Email Delivery Platform that developers love. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IO

"Magic" methods and properties show up several places in Laravel, as well as third-party packages. They can make certain things easier and less verbose, but there is a trade off. In this episode, we discuss a few different contexts where we like and avoid magic accessors.

We'd really appreciate it if you share the show with other Laravel devs.

This episode is sponsored by Mailtrap, an Email Delivery Platform that developers love. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IO

Admins can do everything in the app, right? Today we discuss a couple reasons why you may want to consider not letting an admin have access to every single feature in your app.

🎉️ Episode 100 is a huge milestone for us. Thank you for listening!

This episode is sponsored by Mailtrap, an Email Delivery Platform that developers love. Try for Free at MAILTRAP.IO

Have you ever turned on error tracking in a long-lived app and then got overwhelmed by all the errors happening? We talk through some strategies to not get overwhelmed and make a case that you really should be monitoring this in production.

Would you like help with your legacy app? We have a ton of experience making legacy apps a joy to work within.

• (00:00) - Your app should be tracking errors
• (02:30) - Better than just parsing logs
• (05:15) - Don't get overwhelmed when you first turn it on
• (06:00) - How to triage and prioritize
• (07:30) - Know about performance issues
• (10:30) - Silly bit

We've talked about coding standards before, but this time we approach it from a slightly different angle. Does the way you're code is formatted affect your ability to understand it? Brains are interesting things.

Is your code slower than you'd like? We specialize in Laravel performance optimization and we can help! Contact us to discuss.

You launched a hobby project and then it starts to get some traction. What next? How do you get a more solid foundation under your app when it comes to database hosting? In this episode, we discuss the common phases we see a database go through during an app's life.

And if you'd love some help moving your database or tackling performance issues, give us a call!

Interfaces are a great tool for writing maintainable applications, but it is possible to go "too far" with abstraction. Or maybe, it's a bad use of time to write an abstraction up front before you really know you need it. We discuss some trade-offs and examples.

• (00:00) - Life before interfaces in PHP
• (02:30) - Going too far with interfaces
• (04:45) - A discussion with payment gateways
• (07:30) - Abstracting the database as another trap
• (09:15) - Laravel makes good use of interfaces
• (10:05) - Silly bit

When you're writing a test it can be so tempting to just "tweak" some app code to make it easier to write that test, but we discuss why that might not be a good idea. We also talk about some app changes while writing tests that are beneficial to the overall project.

• (00:00) - Sometimes changing code makes testing easier
• (01:30) - Different types of code changes
• (02:45) - An example with Laravel jobs
• (04:30) - A time when it's okay to change code while testing
• (08:50) - Avoid problems by writing tests earlier
• (09:30) - Silly bit

Do your eyes glaze over when someone mentions singletons or factories? We'll try to not to be boring as we explain the benefits of design patterns.

Sign up for our free Laravel newsletter and learn something new in 2 minutes or less.

Ever feel like your Blade views are getting too logic-heavy? What logic belongs in the view, and what logic would be better somewhere else? We use a recent PR discussion to talk through these points.

• (00:00) - Trying to keep logic out of the Blade view
• (02:00) - Using the simplest form of logic
• (03:45) - Business logic doesn't belong in the view layer
• (04:15) - Condition moved into the controller
• (05:20) - Secondary benefit of testing

When new tools and packages come out, there is usually some buzz around the launch, and how it solves all the problems of the old tool. Should you switch? How do you know when it's worth it? What are the potential downsides of switching? We talk through a couple examples and share how we approach these decisions

Want to see what our coding standard looks like?

Toss a coin in the jar if you enjoyed this episode. We really appreciate it!

Seeders seem pretty straightforward. It's a way to generate data. But how should you use them in your app and what different purposes do they serve? We talk through our approach to seeders and how we use them in a few different contexts.

• (00:00) - Diving into how we use seeders in our applications
• (01:40) - Should a seeder create users?
• (04:30) - Using seeders in multiple contexts
• (09:50) - The one time we might use seeders with tests
• (11:50) - Silly bit

Toss a coin in the jar if you enjoyed this episode. We really appreciate it!

Is there some particular tool or technology that just makes you mad? Maybe it's the way CSS behaves or how some browsers work. Don't just get mad, dig in and learn it thoroughly. We talk about how we've done that and how it helped.

• (00:00) - Once again, Aaron reads the docs
• (02:30) - Recognizing when you don't know something
• (03:30) - Approaches for learning Javascript and CSS
• (04:20) - What is the manual for Javascript/CSS?
• (07:13) - Joel learning CSS hands-on
• (09:55) - Learning through repetition
• (12:00) - Keep an eye on tech that makes you annoyed
• (13:23) - Silly bit

Toss a coin in the jar if you enjoyed this episode. We really appreciate it!

We see a lot of different projects, but it's pretty rare to find one that's well-documented and internally consistent. Why does that matter? And how can you make things more consistent without spending a lot of time on it?

• (00:00) - We like keeping things tidy in our projects
• (01:20) - Have a README, please
• (03:30) - Is there a business case for consistency across projects?
• (05:30) - An example with Docker build speeds in CI
• (06:50) - Consistency in naming business concepts
• (09:45) - Silly bit

How do you like to upgrade your app when the next new major version of Laravel comes out? Aaron and Joel share two different approaches they've used, and what added benefits you get from doing a version upgrade.

Need help getting tests on your Laravel app before upgrading?

We're developers, we write code! But sometimes it's worth thinking if we really need to fire up our editor, or if a better solution exists. We talk through some "behind the scenes" podcast workflow, and how we decided we didn't need to write code this time.

• (00:00) - Considering better ways to track topics
• (01:00) - The developer brain kicks in
• (03:05) - Building it in Slack without any code
• (05:15) - Feeling empathy for the non-devs out there
• (06:45) - Deciding not to automate everything
• (09:15) - Another example with a stats dashboard
• (11:25) - Silly bit

Just about every application needs the concept of roles and permissions. Often, there's a desire to allow non-developers to manage roles and permissions in the application interface, but is that a good idea?

• (00:00) - Roles and permissions landscape
• (01:45) - A UI for managing permissions?
• (04:14) - Rolling out new permissions via migrations
• (06:45) - What about managing roles in a UI?
• (09:00) - Covering permissions in tests
• (10:30) - Maybe a read only UI?
• (10:55) - Silly bit

You might have a book that really shaped how you write code today. Some books make more sense if you read them later in your career. We discuss the changing value of books as a learning resource as you gain experience.

00:00 Using books as a resource
01:59 Changing perspectives as you gain experience
03:05 Recognizing real-world applications of what you read
05:45 Balancing enthusiasm with experience
07:20 You don't need to learn everything
09:35 Silly bit

You could spend a few thousand dollars on books, but maybe that money is better spent working with us.

This is a surprisingly controversial topic. In this episode, we share why we write down migration methods, and it's probably not the reason you're thinking of.

• (00:00) - Is writing down migration methods just a weird habit?
• (02:30) - A deploy that goes horribly wrong immediately
• (03:45) - Rolling forward due to database engine limitations
• (05:00) - How long is too long to rollback?
• (06:30) - Another use case: switching branches
• (08:30) - A mental unit test for your logic
• (12:35) - Silly bit

It's frustrating to have a client, boss, or even co-worker attempt to micro-manage you. We share some tips on how to make the working relationship better.

• (00:00) - Uncomfortable projects and clients
• (02:45) - Ask them directly "what's up"
• (05:00) - Understand what they want from you
• (07:00) - Let's role play
• (10:30) - The extra work is worth it
• (11:42) - Silly bit

Developers spend a large part of their day inside an editor. For a full-featured editor like PHPStorm, there may be some useful features you've never noticed. We discuss a few of those.

PHPStan is a great tool, but if you're not careful it might push you to write code in a way you wouldn't normally write it. How can you balance a tool's strengths with your team's style of writing code?

• (00:00) - We really like PHPStan
• (01:30) - Can you go too far with a tool, though?
• (03:40) - Things to consider if you're newer to Laravel or PHP
• (05:30) - PHPStan has helped us find bugs
• (06:25) - Accessing route parameters in a type-safe way
• (09:22) - Know how the tool works, to make it work for you
• (11:13) - Return types on controller actions
• (14:22) - Silly bit

It is so exciting to watch a conference talk announcing some new tool or feature. Now you're back at work and your fingers are itching to type `composer install` - What do you do?

• (00:00) - Post-conference excitement is a real thing
• (01:11) - The reality of how conferences are structured
• (03:50) - Talks share things you could do not things you should do
• (05:00) - How to apply new ideas in your daily work
• (06:08) - Specific challenges within a team
• (11:40) - Silly bit

You like short things, that's why you listen to this podcast. How about a short Laravel tip in your inbox?

Programmers have opinions on things. Shocking, I know! How can we tell someone we think there's a better way to do something, without being counterproductive and causing needless confrontation?

• (00:00) - Programmers have opinions on a lot of topics
• (02:25) - Start by asking questions
• (03:45) - Get smart with leading questions
• (05:25) - Do you always have to call out something you think is wrong?
• (07:15) - Conflict doesn't mean confrontation

We get a bit nerdy here and dive deep on a few different ways to test record creation.

• (00:00) - We like testing
• (01:20) - One way to test creating a record
• (03:00) - Limitations of fetch the record with first()
• (05:30) - Considerations when using latest() in tests
• (07:00) - An approach for using auto-increment IDs
• (08:05) - Silly bit

Do you maintain laser focus when you work, or are you a normal human being? How do you balance use of email and social media for legitimate work reasons without going down the rabbit hole of distraction? Stop your work and listen to this episode for answers. It's not a distraction, it's an investment.

• (00:00) - Feeling the pull of distraction when trying to focus on work
• (01:30) - Email - the biggest distraction
• (03:00) - The world won't end if you keep email closed
• (06:00) - Setting expectations with others
• (07:45) - Being a hero might actually be unfair to others
• (08:20) - Productivity is really about well-being, not cranking out work
• (09:00) - Be realistic when planning
• (10:00) - Experiment and find what works for you
• (11:30) - Social media as a distraction
• (13:00) - Silly bit

The discussion of final classes was a hot topic recently. We had planned on discussing this even before it came up on Twitter, but here is our unsolicited opinion.

Is there some use case we missed? Aaron wants to hear about it.

Show notes

• (00:00) - Final classes, the hot topic on Twitter
• (01:00) - Aaron's opinion has evolved over the years
• (03:15) - Packages vs applications
• (04:00) - What about making PHPStan happy?
• (06:45) - What about reducing support burden on package maintainers?
• (10:05) - What about private properties?
• (11:15) - Aaron wants to be wrong
• (11:45) - Silly bit

We always write tests, and can't imagine working without them. But is there ever a time where it might make sense to delay writing some tests until later in the project? Let us tell you a story about a recent project where we made that decision.

• (00:00) - Our secret podcast agenda
• (01:00) - Project setup
• (02:30) - Tests are good, but they do add time
• (03:15) - Some ambiguity on "is this what the user needs/wants?"
• (06:00) - Discussing the decision to delay tests as a team
• (07:15) - Conclusion - it's the audience, not the timeline
• (08:10) - Side benefit of knowledge sharing
• (09:15) - Silly bit

Show notes:

• (00:00) - Relationships and trashed records
• (02:00) - One-to-one relationship
• (02:39) - Are soft-deletes bad then?
• (03:30) - Balancing end user and developer experience
• (05:00) - One-to-many relationships are even more problematic
• (08:00) - Does the specific domain matter?
• (10:15) - Agree on the rule as a team
• (10:50) - Silly bit

Some interviewing techniques can be pretty disrespectful of the applicant's time or humanity. On today's episode we talk about some ways of approaching an interview to put the person at ease and help them to do their best.

Show notes:

• 00:00 Our different work backgrounds
• 01:00 How to kick off a technical discussion in an interview
• 03:45 How to leverage their existing experience
• 04:50 Learn about their communication style
• 06:00 Figuring out how someone thinks about a problem
• 09:30 Don't code review actual company code
• 11:50 Silly bit

Maybe you're a solo dev or working on a small team. What benefits are there in widening your circle of developers? We talk through our own personal experiences in this episode.

Show notes:

• (00:00) - Topic intro: the benefits of working with someone else
• (02:46) - Code review can actually be nice
• (04:45) - The benefits of being "challenged"
• (06:20) - Picking up tips just seeing how someone else works
• (06:53) - Human skills are important too

We'll admit it: sometimes we change our mind. In this episode, we discuss how we used to setup queues in Laravel tests, and why we changed it.

Show Notes

• 00:00 Sometimes we change our mind over time
• 02:00 Changing queue from sync to null in tests
• 03:45 Feature versus integration tests
• 04:40 Where do you test job logic?
• 05:30 White box versus black box testing
• 07:15 Laravel queue drivers and how faking works
• 08:55 Why use events at all?
• 09:30 The new approach is faster too
• 11:15 Silly bit

Want to make us happy with a random email? Check out our free and paid books on masteringlaravel.io

Rules in programming can be extremely helpful, especially on a team. But is it possible to go too far with rules? We discuss a couple recent scenarios where we could have made a rule, but decided not to.

• 00:00 I like rules
• 01:20 Maybe going too far with rules - the scenario
• 03:05 Bug explanation
• 05:03 A tangent on test setup
• 06:30 A possible rule to prevent this bug
• 07:17 Why this rule went too far
• 08:50 We still want to fix it, just not now
• 09:45 Another example with syntax and code standards
• 12:53 Silly bit

Need help to set up or improve your team's coding standards?

Before you vent some frustration on another tool or programming community, take a deep breath and think about why you're irritated? We talk about our own reactions to some technologies and how it's good to keep an open mind or, at a minimum, to not be a jerk.

• 00:00 It's easy to hate on tools you don't use
• 01:02 Why are there different kinds of tools?
• 03:30 Is it "bad" because we don't understand it?
• 04:42 Learn from other communities
• 07:10 Don't be a jerk
• 07:55 Silly bit

Need some help with your Laravel application?

We have such a rich ecosystem of packages in the Laravel and PHP community. But can there be too much of a good thing? What do we consider before adding a small package to our projects?

• 00:00 A healthy ecosystem of packages
• 01:02 Too much of a good thing?
• 02:48 Risks to consider
• 04:13 Other ways to share
• 05:34 Think before you promote
• 08:02 Consider the friction
• 08:39 Silly bit

Would you like help auditing the packages in your Laravel application?

Laravel has a vibrant community of people teaching and sharing what they've learned. What makes a good tip? Should you tweet or blog or both?

• 00:00 Why blogging is beneficial
• 02:43 Slowing down before you publish
• 04:30 Tips that provide value
• 08:11 Platforms can go away
• 09:36 Silly bit

Check out the new articles section on masteringlaravel.io

New PHP version! New Laravel version! So exciting! But when does it make sense to upgrade, and when does it make sense to start using new language or framework features?

• PHP marches forward (00:00)
• Upgrade strategy depends on team size (01:20)
• Considerations for new language features (02:33)
• Performance gains (03:27)
• Readability (04:56)
• How to adopt new features (06:16)
• Depends on the project's maturity (08:14)
• Upgrading for security (09:30)
• Silly bit (11:17)

If you enjoy this podcast, we'd really appreciate help spreading the word. Share it with your fellow PHP and Laravel developers.

How can a bug be fun, and not frustrating? When you treat it like a puzzle. Let's walk through a recent bug with CSV mime type validation and go deep down the rabbit hole.

• Think of a bug like a fun code puzzle (00:00)
• Don't get stuck for too long (01:22)
• The confusing CSV bug (02:35)
• Diffing the files (06:05)
• Digging deeper into Symfony and PHP (08:07)
• Getting stubborn about fixing this (11:29)
• Silly bit (12:26)

Why would you validate your MIME types? Learn that and a whole lot more with our validation book: Mastering Laravel Validation Rules

User experience is a term we hear a lot as developers, but it can mean different things depending on the context. We discuss a recent project where decisions around which HTTP status code to return was focused on improving the user's experience and trust in the application.

• 00:16 Why do we write code?
• 01:39 The importance of user experience
• 02:54 A specific example of user-focused thinking
• 04:34 Choosing the most helpful HTTP status code
• 05:44 What if it’s an API response?
• 07:17 How much detail in an error is useful to a user?
• 08:35 Silly bit

Move from competent to confident - become a better Laravel developer with the free resources available at masteringlaravel.io

We discuss two "interesting" patterns we've observed in a number of Laravel projects. Let's take a step back and think about why we write tests the way we do.

• 1:06 - One weird pattern we’ve seen in Laravel project tests
• 2:23 - Can you explain why you’re doing this?
• 3:50 - “It’s more readable”
• 5:55 - Principle: learn a thing, do a thing, dissect a thing
• 6:30 - Is it okay to have code duplication in tests?
• 8:20 - How tests are different from application code
• 11:16 - Don’t add application code just for your tests
• 13:06 - Silly bit

Need help building a test suite for your Laravel app or making your existing tests more reliable? Click the link and book a free call to see how we can help.

We've all been there: a thorny piece of code works, but it seems like there must be a better way to simplify it or make it more readable. We share one example when this happened to us, and how code review led to a better solution.

Want another set of eyes on your code? We can help! Visit our site and schedule a free call with us today.

• 00:16 The problem: this code works, but I don't like it
• 01:17 What we mean by "I don't like this code"
• 02:22 A specific example of code I didn't like
• 03:52 Code review sparks a discussion, and a solution
• 05:20 Principle: don't get locked in to your first approach
• 06:03 Principle: the benefits of code review
• 07:22 Don't be defensive, and the code reviewer isn't always right
• 08:03 Silly bit

Hear about some cool new tool or coding technique on Twitter? Great, jump right in and use it on your biggest production app! Or . . . maybe don't. We share some thoughts on how to evaluate things critically for your particular circumstances.

Do you want to blindly take our advice? Great idea! Check out our book on Laravel validation rules.

Do you always finish everything you plan on doing? Probably not, very few developers do. The problem isn't always how you work. Some of it is how you plan. We discuss several tips on how to plan for a more successful week.

Want to get notified when we release new tools, books, and articles? Sign up for our newsletter!

What do you do when you're stuck? Aaron shares a tip on how he breaks down a problem when he's feeling stuck.

Are you stuck with your Laravel/PHP project? We can help! Book a free call.

We all know we should write tests, but what should we test? Is there anything it doesn't make sense to test? We talk through a high-level approach to how we do feature testing in Laravel.

Need some help or advice on your Laravel project? We can help!

There are different ways to structure your translation assets in Laravel. We discuss how we approached this on a recent project, and why we chose the method we did.

Check out the validation worksheet we built. It may help jump start your Laravel validation rules.

Factories are really useful in tests, but could they give you a false sense of security if they don't generate models exactly like a user of your application would? We talk through some benefits and cautions to think about as you're designing your factories and factory states.

Share the love! Tell people on Twitter about the podcast.

What a surprise, Joel and Aaron have a different learning style. We talk through our different approaches to learning, and what we've found useful.

Did you like this? We'd appreciate a review or share of the podcast

Do you like to fiddle with settings? Joel doesn't. Find out why, and hear about one example where we like deviating from the defaults.

Learn more about Laravel at masteringlaravel.io

Maybe you've inherited a project and just looking at how the code is organized makes your head hurt. Before you go ripping it apart and "making it better", it can be useful to take a step back and use a more measured approach.

Want us to work with your team? Book a free call to see if we can help.

You've inherited a legacy app. It's "running fine" in production, but when you add an error reporting tool, you see hundreds of errors, warnings, and notices logged each day. What do you do?

Check out our books and courses at masteringlaravel.io

Can a Laravel developer learn something from the Rails or Erlang communities? We share some perspective on how to broaden your horizons, and when might be a good time in your career to do that.

Download our free ebook 7 Steps to Securing Your Laravel App.

Many of us have built something we thought was "throw-away" code, only to have someone decide it's good enough to ship to production. How can you prepare for this, and avoid problems when it happens?

Check out Aaron's blog and Joel's blog for even more amazing wisdom.

If you are listening to this, you probably enjoy hearing other people share what they've learned. In this episode, we turn the tables and explain why you should consider sharing what you've learned as well.

Listening to us is just part of the fun. You can read what we've written too at masteringlaravel.io

How can you handle an interruption to your work, especially if it is an urgent request for help? We discuss how to do this without derailing your planned work for the day.

Let us know if you have a question or topic you'd like to discuss on the show. Contact us with your suggestions, or just to tell us how great we're doing.

We walk through a recent experience where Joel was about to "burn down the world," as Aaron calls it. Instead, after doing a little exploration of the Laravel framework code, we landed on a much cleaner solution.

Want some help to make your Laravel SaaS better? Book a free 30 minute call.

It feels good to finish a project, but before you move on, there are benefits to pausing and reflecting on what went well and what could have been better.

If you're enjoying the podcast, we'd really appreciate it if you shared it with a fellow developer.

We have to ship this feature in 2 weeks! Do we have time to test? In this episode we talk through this scenario and share some benefits of testing even under the pressure of a looming deadline.

Free, practical advice on how to improve your Laravel app at masteringlaravel.io

For some values, it can be tricky to know whether it's better to calculate it on the fly or when to calculate it once and store in the database. We talk through a recent scenario we bumped into, and what factors to weigh when making this decision

Download our free Laravel tips ebook.

We share a few rules that help guide us to determine when to manually fire an event versus when to wire up a model observer.

Make my phone buzz and download a book to make you a better Laravel developer.

Wrapping up our series on how we work, we talk through the end of a project and how to make sure there are no surprises.

Download the free security tips ebook from masteringlaravel.io.
It's not easy being green

You learned a best practice, and it served you well. Is it set in stone? Or should you be open to re-evaluate later?

Get those free e-books at masteringlaravel.io

We've all had disagreements about how to write or organize code, or how a feature should work. We share some tips on how to discuss it productively.

Be a Joel, not a Cole: masteringlaravel.io

Setting up a useful staging environment involves a number of choices. We discuss our preferred strategies and talk about why having a staging environment is a good thing.

This isn't meant to be an insult. It's actually a good thing that your project isn't completely unique, and you can benefit from what other people have already learned.

Continuing our series on "how we work", today we finally get to the dev work. How we organize it, plan it, and communicate with the project stakeholders.

I heard this site is cool: masteringlaravel.io

Aaron shares a few things that he's bumped into with policies in his apps, and we talk through some possible solutions or processes to help avoid them.

Tweet @jclermont if there's something you'd like us to discuss.

When you inherit a project, how do you draw a balance before making everything nice to work with and delivering value to the stakeholders?

Check out masteringlaravel.io

Have a question? Want us to discuss a topic? Do you like sending email to random people on the Internet?
Contact us at [email protected] for all of the above.

You just attended a conference or finished a book/course and you're all excited to try out some new "best practice". We discuss how to balance this enthusiasm with the needs of your team and project.

* Check out masteringlaravel.io
* Download our free Laravel Tips ebook

As developers, coding is the fun part, but we share why we like to slow down and take some time to wireframe before diving into the editor

* Download our free Laravel Tips ebook

* Github Actions by Michael Heap (50% discount for podcast listeners)
* masteringlaravel.io - get a jump start on validation with our free worksheet

Check out our new website: MasteringLaravel.io

• The broken window theory of programming
• New site launch! MasteringLaravel.io

This episode is a little different. We take a peek behind the scenes as to how we qualify projects, and the sorts of things you might think about before deciding whether or not to take on something new.

Find out more about Mastering Laravel Validation Rules.

Roles and permissions are a core part of most applications. Laravel provides some tools for managing and enforcing this, and third party packages provide even more features. Aaron and Joel share their techniques for enforcing roles and permissions, in a way that won't get harder to manage over time.

Download our free eBook of Laravel tips: A Little Bit of Laravel

Our favorite permissions package: laravel-permission

When you're building a Laravel app, you're writing PHP code, but you're dealing with many patterns and conveniences provided by Laravel. So where do you draw the line between the two? Is it important? We discuss this topic and how you can get the most out of what both PHP and Laravel have to offer.

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Fun game to learn/practice regular expression syntax: Regex Crossword

> Developer: "I just need to SSH in real quick"
> Server admin: "No"

Have you had this discussion? Listen in as Joel and Aaron talk about their experience on teams of different sizes, and how to handle this potential conflict, while still getting your work done.

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Where should I place this curly brace? Trailing commas or not? Have you encountered disagreements about coding standards on your team. In this episode we explain the benefits of coding standards, how to adopt them on your project, and discuss the two most popular tools in the PHP community for enforcing them.

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We've all been stuck with something we didn't know. Should you ask for help? And how? Or if someone on your team asks you a question, how can you handle it best? We discuss it all.

Download our free eBook of Laravel tips: A Little Bit of Laravel

What are the big 3 types of tests we use on our projects? How do we decide which to use? Listen in as we discuss this and more.

Need help improving your testing strategy, or just need help to get your team started with testing? Setup a free consultation call.

It's no tabs versus spaces, but it's close. Do you use guarded or fillable in your Laravel models? Aaron and Joel share their default approach, as well as several reasons for that choice.

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Find out more about Mastering Laravel Validation Rules.

It's easy to get used to things that cause us friction or pain in our development process. In this episode, we discuss how to avoid that trap and how to evaluate when to invest time in fixing that pain.

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Find out more about Mastering Laravel Validation Rules.

Validation may seem boring, but it's a vital part of any Laravel application. Joel and Aaron share some tips on validation along with exciting news about a new resource to master Laravel validation rules.

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Find out more about Mastering Laravel Validation Rules.

Why is it important to think about a future project hand-off at the beginning of a client relationship? Aaron and Joel share their approach.

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Last episode we discussed how to deal with a "slow app" complaint. This episode we discuss some technical approaches to find and fix the issue.

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The dreaded support ticket gets filed: App is slow! Before you get defensive or close as "Won't fix", consider a few tips on how to successfully approach this situation.

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Ed Balls Day wikipedia article

Aaron and Joel have joined a fair number of projects over the years. Listen as they share some tips on how to make process less painful for your team.

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Laravel and PHP have a rich ecosystem, but it's good to weigh the pros and cons before reaching for a new package. We share some things to consider.

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Where are some good starting points for modernizing and improving a legacy codebase? Joel and Aaron discuss a few ideas where you could start.

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Does anyone read these? Tweet @jclermont if you see this.

The eternal question that every developer hears: How long is that going to take? Aaron and Joel discuss some ways to frame that question, and how to provide an estimate that will avoid unnecessary disappointment.

• 00:00 Accurate estimates can be difficult
• 02:00 Disconnect between a developer and a stakeholder
• 03:00 How Aaron approaches an estimate
• 06:05 Pad the estimate? Ranges?
• 07:38 The importance of open communication
• 08:12 Translating "hours" into real world time
• 09:50 Planning not pricing
• 11:56 Silly bit

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Stepping into an unfamiliar codebase with a long history can be a challenge. Aaron and Joel share some tips on how to get started and build confidence that you're making things better.

• 00:00 What is a "legacy" code base?
• 01:00 Getting those first tests in a legacy code base
• 03:05 Starting with unit tests can be hard
• 04:20 Be extra careful with external APIs
• 07:15 Onboarding a new project
• 08:35 Getting more specific on the first few tests
• 10:38 Silly bit

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Some shy away from code review, not wanting to be critiqued. Aaron and Joel share some tips on how to get the most out of code reviews, and things to look for as a code reviewer.

• 00:00 The value of a code review process
• 02:53 Look at it as a learning opportunity
• 04:06 Approaching a pull request to review it
• 06:05 Should we make this better?
• 07:00 Did the programmer have a reason for what they did?
• 09:05 Everyone on the team should get their code reviewed
• 10:25 Silly bit

Aaron and Joel talk about why they write tests and what sorts of tests they find valuable.

• 00:00 Why do we write tests?
• 03:05 Implied trust in packages
• 04:15 What do you test? How do you write them?
• 06:30 Testing the happy path
• 07:05 Testing the "unhappy" paths
• 08:12 It's less work than you think
• 11:30 Testing a dumb mistake with range validators
• 14:40 Silly bit

We discuss a couple scenarios where there's more than one way to do something, and how we think through our decision.

• 00:00 How to pick what file to put this code in?
• 01:51 An example of a single-action controller
• 03:15 Should everything be single-action?
• 04:58 How many methods on a controller is too many?
• 06:10 Where do you put authorization logic?
• 08:00 Consistency is important
• 08:45 Silly bit

How do you learn a new technology? Or how do you find out what's changed in the latest version of something you already use? Aaron and Joel share some tips on what they do.

• 00:00 So many new things to learn
• 00:56 Importance of reading docs
• 02:00 Reading versus doing
• 03:45 Be curious when reading
• 05:20 How to get hands-on practice
• 07:30 Learning a new release of an existing tool
• 10:15 Improve the docs!
• 12:15 Silly bit

Exercises for Programmers from Pragmatic Press

The technologies we work with are extremely detailed. Without a clear mental model of how things work together, it's easy to get lost or confused.

• 00:00 A common pattern when a dev is stuck
• 01:12 What is a "mental model"?
• 02:15 A concrete example of a mental model
• 04:30 Discussing rebase versus merge
• 06:30 A PHP specific example for rebase
• 07:40 Mental models for queue workers
• 10:10 Open source helps us understand
• 11:30 Silly bit

Disagreements and debate can sap your team's energy. We'll talk about some ways to avoid unnecessary conflicts, and how to successfully handle a difference of opinion on your team.

• 00:00 Developers want the "one true way" to do something
• 01:45 Handling a difference of opinion
• 02:33 Staying consistent within a project
• 03:44 Using tools to help consistency
• 06:00 Document your project standards
• 07:37 Keep an open mind
• 11:01 Choose your battles wisely
• 12:25 Involve the whole team in the discussion
• 13:05 Silly bit

Croissants are great because they're flaky, but no one likes a flaky test. We share some strategies on how to make your tests more reliable.

• 00:00 Flaky tests are the worst
• 02:12 Why randomization can lead to flaky tests
• 03:10 A guideline on when to avoid randomization
• 05:10 Trying to predict the future?
• 06:15 Naming can be a guide
• 07:15 Use factory states
• 08:00 Another type of flaky test
• 11:15 Silly bit

• 00:00 The desire to upgrade to a shiny new Laravel version
• 02:20 I actually enjoy maintenance
• 03:48 An analogy with cars
• 04:30 The importance of communication
• 05:30 Making it easier to upgrade
• 06:30 Do you want to be on the bleeding edge?
• 07:52 Silly bit

• 00:00 The thought process when you get stuck
• 01:40 An example with CSS
• 03:40 Tools that can help locally
• 06:15 Using a debugger to learn about Laravel
• 06:30 Tools that can help in a remote environment
• 08:22 Real talk about debugging in production
• 09:57 Troubleshooting database performance
• 11:16 Searching the internet for an answer
• 13:02 Silly bit

• 00:00 The urge to automate everything
• 01:49 Document before you automate
• 02:45 Weighing time spent versus time saved
• 03:30 Automation isn't maintenance-free
• 04:08 Types of automation
• 05:18 The exception to the rule
• 07:05 An example of using a command to update data
• 08:00 Silly bit