OpenLampTech issue #111
Advanced SQL queries | WooCommerce shortcodes | Open Source alternatives | Laravel in 2024 | PHP if/else spiral.
Thank you for reading the OpenLampTech newsletter!
If someone awesome shared this newsletter with you and you are not yet subscribed, please use the Subscribe button below and join:
And now, a message from this week’s sponsor. Thank you, Depot for sponsoring the OpenLampTech newsletter!
Depot is a remote container build service hosting BuildKit as a service, the same build engine that backs Docker. We can build Docker images up to 20x faster, thanks to fast persistent caching on NVMe SSDs, 16 CPUs, 32GB of memory, and fast native CPUs for Intel and Arm.
If you’re tired of waiting for slow Docker image builds, check out depot.dev.
OpenLampTech has sponsorship opportunities for your brand, product, or service in the weekly newsletter. As an independent publication, collaboration is very affordable. Sponsorships are available for early 2024.
Ryan Szrama shared some fantastic content in a recent OpenLampTech developer interview.
Read it here:
For the majority of web applications, the CRUD operations are enough for data processing, display, and management. However, there may be some use cases in which you need more powerful queries (returning more complex results) which is where advanced SQL comes in. Pivoting data, finding gaps in sequences, and reshaping query results are all good knowledge and skills to have when it comes to SQL.
Bonus: 5 SQL Books That Will Make You A Pro
[Medium]
How to Use Product Shortcodes in WooCommerce
One of the (many) strengths of WordPress in my opinion is shortcodes. They are handy, easy to use, and powerful. WooCommerce has some dedicated shortcodes for specific purposes that you can use where needed. Shortcodes can display content for a whole page or specific sections or a combination of them both (and more). [Iconic]
I'm so guilty of this that I put little comment snippets at the end of some of my if/else closing brackets (e.g., // end 1st if). However, the fantastic Alex Web Develop site has a great article here with 3 alternatives you can use to avoid the perilous if/else spiral. I'm going to make an effort to implement the 2nd suggestion more in the code I write where applicable. Following any of these practices should help tidy up messy if/else code spirals.
Learn more about the author, Alessandro Castellano, in this OpenLampTech developer interview. [Alex Web Develop]
Top 10 Laravel Packages You Should Know in 2024
Bear in mind, that I'm not a Laravel developer. However, I do keep an eye on the space. OpenLampTech has featured many Laravel developer interviews. I will say that along with the community, there are (seemingly) endless choices for Laravel Packages. I'm unsure if including everything and the kitchen sink is good or bad. But, chances are, if you're looking for something specific, there is a Laravel package for it. [Medium]
Paul Macko over at the fantastic
shared this link in one of his recent newsletters and I just had to reshare it here. It's not necessarily programming-related, but man what a list of open-source software and alternatives! I had no idea about some of these choices. I'm sure you can find an option on here to help reduce or offset some of the proprietary software you use. [opensourcealternative.to]2024: Laravel — The Game Changer for Web Development
Laravel, the surrounding ecosystem, the number of developers using it, and the number of projects using it are MASSIVE. I don't use Laravel (at this time) but I keep an eye on the space and I'm pretty confident in saying that Laravel is here to stay. 2024 will be another good year for the PHP framework. Out of the box, Laravel has a lot of setups already in place to quickly build out robust web applications. [Medium]
Thank you for reading. I hope you have a great rest of your week.
Take care.
Josh Otwell
When you are ready, here are more ways I can help...
Content, E-commerce Development, and Email/Newsletter Services - Photography services; Shopify and WooCommerce customizations, development, and setup; Email and Newsletter setup and management.
Interested? Great!
Just hit Reply and ask for more information about any of these services.
OpenLampTech is a reader-supported publication. You can support the publication with a virtual coffee for as little as $3 (USD).
[#Classifieds, #Affiliates, #Click Ads, #Shoutouts]
🤝 OpenLampTech earns a small commission (or payment/gain in some form) from many of these links. Your support helps keep the weekly OpenLampTech newsletter free for readers.
Take your Laravel applications to the next level with Battle Ready Laravel by Ash Allen. Learn how to improve the performance, maintainability, and security of your Laravel projects in this e-book.
Thanks for the shout out, Josh! Have a great 2024, bro...