OpenLampTech No. 205
OpenLampTech is expanding its focus | SQL Anti-Patterns to avoid | NoSQL vs SQL | Are devs responsible for SEO when building client sites?
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OpenLampTech is expanding its focus…
As technology and data work continue to blend together, I’ve found that the most interesting problems are at that crossroad.
Over the past few years, a large part of my day-to-day work has involved solving real-world data problems. Pulling information from varied systems, cleaning and merging messy spreadsheets, automating reports, and building scripts that connect tools when nothing “off the shelf” seems to quite fit.
Much of this happens outside the traditional PHP/MySQL world — using Python, VBA, Access SQL, PowerShell, Google Sheets Apps Script, Linux scripting, and other tools to get the job done. These experiences have shown me how versatile modern developers need to be.
Not just writing code for the web (although I do, and like it), but engineering data workflows, automating repetitive processes, and creating small, powerful tools that save time.
My goal is to expand and broaden the OpenLampTech newsletter and share more of those types of lessons, tools, and examples. The kind of practical, cross-language problem-solving that helps you do more with the data and systems you already have and are working with.
I’d love to hear what kinds of data or automation challenges you’re running into.
Feel free to email me and tell me about them.
OpenLampTech has sponsorship opportunities for your brand, product, service, or job listing in the weekly newsletter.
As an independent publication, collaboration is very affordable.
[Shout-out]
Please follow my friend Rick Rouse’s fantastic newsletter, Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter. Rick publishes some of the best, up-to-date tech tips and information.
All commentary on the below curated content is mine unless otherwise directly quoted.
SQL Anti-Patterns You Should Avoid
There is always something to learn when working with SQL.
This is a fantastic article on SQL Anti-Patterns you may not be aware of.
Some takeaways I noted:
Excessive
CASEstatement useEssentially using
DISTINCTto “fix” duplicates (this is huge, and one I hadn’t considered before)SELECT *in Views.
As mentioned in the source article, I would also highly recommend a specific and excellent book on SQL Anti-Patterns. I’ve written about it before in OpenLampTech.
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I can speak a lot about SQL. But not on NoSQL, as I’ve never used it that much.
I do feel that both have their place with the right data.
NoSQL offers more flexibility, while SQL provides a more rigid structure.
This article covers their differences and some popular implementations of each.
[Level Up Coding]
How to read uncommitted data in your database tool while debugging a test
Laravel expert Joel Clermont shares a useful tip when running tests against uncommitted data in the database.
Since the data is in a transaction, it won’t be visible until it is committed.
Setting the isolation level to READ-UNCOMMITTED is a quick and temporary way you can review the data from something like MySQL Workbench or whatever your SQL GUI of choice is.
[Mastering Laravel / Joel Clermont]
Interesting Articles
Designing APIs for vibe coding
Am I responsible for SEO when I’m building a client website?
Pitch in: sponsoring open source
WordPress and WooCommerce News and Updates
Styling accordions in WordPress 6.9
WooCommerce 10.3.1 – 10.3.3: Dot Releases
Understanding the Interactivity API-driven future for WooCommerce Blocks
Thank you for reading OpenLampTech. See you next week.
Josh Otwell