On Exceptions

I've been reading the Proposal for Exceptions in ZF2 and like it. One thing that caught my attention was that it suggests that you can catch an interface. I hadn't heard of that ability before, so I pulled out my trusty text editor to have a play. Consider this code: <?php namespace My; interface ExceptionInterface {} class SplExceptionClass extends InvalidArgumentException implements ExceptionInterface {} class ExceptionClass extends Exception implements ExceptionInterface {} class A { static function… continue reading.

Posted on 8 September 2010 in PHP

Unit testing controller actions with Zend_Test_PHPUnit_ControllerTestCase

Testing controllers has traditionally been a hassle due to the requirements of setting up the bootstrap, the front controller and initiating the dispatch cycle. In June, Matthew addressed this with the release of Zend_Test_PHPUnit_ControllerTestCase way back in 2008. Later, Matthew helpfully wrote an article on how to use it and I have used that as a starting point for the information here. (Thanks Matthew!) The project I'm using is TodoIt, which is a simple ZF… continue reading.

Posted on 6 September 2010 in Zend Framework 1

Day Camp for Developers virtual conference

My friend Cal Evans is putting on a virtual conference called Day Camp 4 Developers. The most interesting thing about this conference is that it is about the "soft skills" that you need as a developer. There are many conferences that deal withe the technical skills improvements that you need, but less that handle the rest of your job, so this piqued my interest. It's a one day tech-agnostic conference containing 5 sessions and all… continue reading.

Posted on 1 September 2010 in Conferences

The Redirector action helper

Following on from the discussion on the FlashMessenger action helper, I thought I'd also cover another supplied helper: Redirector. Redirector does what it says on the tin and redirects the user to another page. I mostly use this when coming back from filling a form in, so that the user is then redirected to another page. In admin systems, this is usually a list page. On front end websites, this is usually a thank you… continue reading.

Posted on 30 August 2010 in Zend Framework 1

Zend Framework's Flash Messenger action helper

I've talked about Zend Framework's action helpers before, but haven't covered any of the action helpers that are supplied with Zend Framework. FlashMessenger is a helper that allows you to store messages between requests. The most common use I have for it is for a "saved" message after doing an edit of an item that then redirects back to a list. This is how it's used: Storing a message Storing to the FlashMessenger is easy.… continue reading.

Posted on 23 August 2010 in Zend Framework 1

Speaking at PHPNW 10

The PHPNW conference is coming to Manchester again this year on the 9th October 2010 and I'm going to be speaking! With a nod to the future, I'm going to be talking about Zend Framework 2.0. I'll be talking about why there will be a ZF2 and what's going to be coming up with the release. PHPNW is a great conference and this year has expanded to three tracks! It's only £58 too if you… continue reading.

Posted on 13 August 2010 in Conferences

Matthew Weier O'Phinney: Using Action Helpers To Implement Re-Usable Widgets

Matthew Weier O'Phinney has just published an article on how to create reusable widgets with action helpers. I had a twitter/IRC exchange yesterday with Andries Seutens and Nick Belhomme regarding applications that include widgets within their layout. During the exchange, I told Andriess not to use the action() view helper, and both Andriess and Nick then asked how to implement widgets if they shouldn't use that helper. While I ended up having an IRC exchange… continue reading.

Posted on 29 July 2010 in Around the web, Zend Framework 1

New Zend_Auth tutorial

After too many months of neglect, I have completely rewritten my Zend_Auth tutorial so that it is compatible with Zend Framework 1.10! As an experiment, I have written it directly in HTML, rather than PDF as before and cover the login form along with the login controller code required to authenticate a user using a database table. For good measure, I've included logging out and a view helper to show how to access the logged… continue reading.

Posted on 26 July 2010 in Zend Framework 1

Akrabat_Db_Schema_Manager: table prefix support

I've updated Akrabat_Db_Schema_Manager so that it now supports table prefixes. It uses the application.ini key of resources.db.table_prefix as I couldn't think of a better one :) and then uses that for the schema_version table's name and also makes it available in your change objects. For example, if application.ini contains resources.db.table_prefix = "myapp", then the manager will create the table myapp_schema_version to store the current version of the schema. In your change classes, you can then… continue reading.

Posted on 20 June 2010 in Zend Framework 1

The Dutch PHP conference 2010

This year I was invited to speak at DPC 2010 which was a great conference. I've published to Flickr, my complete set of photos from DPC 10. Arriving on Wednesday, the day before the conference, I managed to get to meet up with my friend Juliette, along with a some of the other speakers for a barbeque which was a lot of fun. We ate, we drank (lots) and possibly this pose by Chris was… continue reading.

Posted on 16 June 2010 in Conferences