Tag: PHP
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My Experience Vibe-Coding an Internal Company Application
I’ve been using AI more and more in my daily workflow — mostly for adding or fixing parts of an existing codebase. I’ve also vibe-coded small scripts from scratch here and there, but this project was different. This was my first time vibe-coding an entire web app, where AI did 99% of the coding. The…
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Refactoring Legacy PHP Code: My Go-To Playbook
Legacy PHP code has a way of haunting you. Whether it’s procedural scripts written 10+ years ago, a half-upgraded framework, or a mix of spaghetti logic and business-critical features—at some point, you’ll be tasked with refactoring it. The trick is doing it without breaking everything in production. Here’s my playbook, built from years of wading…
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From Developer to Leader: Lessons I Wish I Knew Earlier in My PHP Journey
If you told 25-year-old me that one day I’d be managing a team of PHP developers, reviewing performance metrics, and negotiating deadlines with stakeholders, I probably would’ve laughed and gone back to refactoring some poorly written legacy class. I didn’t start my career with “leadership” in mind—my focus was all about clean code, fast queries,…
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Optimizing Large PHP Codebases Without Breaking Everything
When you’re working in a large PHP codebase, optimization isn’t just about speed—it’s about survival. You can’t just go in and start swapping out loops or rewriting core logic without risking a domino effect that’ll take your entire app down with it. So here’s how I approach optimizing large PHP projects without blowing them up.…
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How Eager Loading Works in ORM (With PHP Examples)
When I first started using ORMs in PHP, I loved how clean and readable my code became. But I quickly ran into performance problems—things were getting sluggish, and I couldn’t figure out why. That’s when I discovered the magic (and danger) of lazy loading, and why eager loading is a tool every developer needs in…
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How to Implement MySQL Pagination in PHP (Step-by-Step Guide)
Pagination: it’s how you turn “Here’s a mullion rows” into “Here’s 20 rows per page” without melting your server. Alright, before we dive in—this post assumes you already know how to connect to MySQL using PHP’s PDO. If that sounds like gibberish, hit pause and go learn that first. I’ll wait. 😎 Still here? Great.…
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10 PHP Performance Pitfalls and How to Fix Them Like a Pro
Let’s be real—most PHP performance issues aren’t caused by exotic edge cases. They’re caused by small mistakes that quietly accumulate until your server starts sweating. Over the years, I’ve fallen into every performance trap in the book—and watched others do the same. So here’s a list of the top 10 PHP performance pitfalls I’ve seen…