The latest Laravel update brings exciting features! The new composer run dev command, added to composer.json for all new applications, launches the Artisan dev server, a queue worker, the Vite dev server, and log tailing with just one command. Additionally, the introduction of the CollectedBy attribute allows for custom collection classes for Eloquent models. Package authors now have the capability to register their own commands for the optimize and optimize:clear operations.

Refer to the release notes for detailed information.

Explore how Laravel's Eloquent ORM uses the $touches property to automatically update parent model timestamps when a related model changes, enhancing data consistency across applications.

The --pretend option in the migrate command shows the SQL statements that would be run during a migration, allowing you to safely inspect the changes before applying them.

php artisan migrate --pretend

It can also be used with the migrate:rollback command.

Introducing Phiki, a PHP-based syntax highlighter leveraging VSCode themes and TextMate grammars for aesthetically pleasing code snippets. It supports HTML and terminal outputs, and integrates seamlessly with Markdown via a CommonMark extension. Despite its robust features, Phiki faces challenges with PHP's PCRE2 regex limitations, affecting some grammar support.

The PHP RFC proposes making the Directory class final, disallowing instantiation via new, cloning, serialization, and dynamic properties to align with resource object principles for PHP 8.5.

This package ensures consistency by verifying the presence of all keys across different .env files, helping maintain environment configuration integrity.

This article explores the pitfalls of improper abstractions in software engineering, highlighting how excessive layers can hinder performance and complicate debugging. It emphasizes that effective abstractions should simplify complexity as TCP does for network communications rather than just adding unnecessary layers. The piece serves as a cautionary tale, urging developers to critically assess the value of abstractions in their code to prevent cognitive overload and performance issues.

This article emphasizes the importance of skepticism about software success, promoting the "Be Suspicious of Success" (BSOS) philosophy. It also emphasizes the importance of verifying code correctness through various testing methods and understanding both happy and sad paths to ensure robust software functionality.

Vercel's AI-native development approach, termed "eval-driven development," is explored. The article highlights methods for integrating AI with software development to enhance output quality and speed. It discusses the importance of evaluations (evals) in testing AI's probabilistic outputs and improving reliability through continuous feedback and refinement.