The Shift to PHP
As a web developer who has spent years immersed in the full-stack JavaScript ecosystem, learning a new language like PHP for an internship was both a challenge and an opportunity. While many might consider PHP a legacy language, it still powers a significant portion of the web, and understanding its architecture and patterns is a valuable skill.
My initial work involves maintaining a website for a cousin who is an IIT professor. The site's monolithic architecture and use of PHP provided a familiar yet different environment to my recent work with Next.js.
Key Learnings
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Syntax Differences: The first hurdle was getting used to the syntax. The
$for variables and the->for object properties were the most notable changes. I also had to get used to the fact that PHP code is typically embedded directly within HTML, a pattern that is less common in modern JavaScript frameworks. -
Server-Side Rendering: PHP's core functionality is centered around server-side rendering. Unlike a client-side JavaScript framework, where the browser requests a JSON object and then renders the HTML, PHP scripts execute on the server and generate a complete HTML page that is then sent to the browser. This is a fundamental concept, and it helped me understand the parallels between PHP's server-side approach and the server-side rendering I do with Next.js.
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Monolithic Architecture: The website I'm working on is a classic monolithic application. This reinforced my understanding of this architectural pattern, which I'm also using for Clozit v2. I'm learning how to manage a large, single codebase, handle different functionalities within the same project, and organize code in a way that is maintainable.
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Ecosystem and Community: I've started to explore the PHP ecosystem, including package managers like Composer and frameworks like Laravel. It's interesting to see how different communities have solved similar problems in web development. The experience has been a great reminder that technology choices are not always about what's 'new' or 'trendy,' but about what's effective and reliable for a given project.
This learning experience has been a fantastic way to broaden my skills and gain a deeper appreciation for the diverse landscape of web development. It's proof that being a good developer is about constantly learning and adapting, regardless of the language.