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Check if a PHP class exists

We've discussed how to check if a class has a function but what if the class doesn't exist at all? To check if a class exists you can use, use guessed it, class_exists(). if (class_exists('MyClass')) { $object = new MyClass() [...]

WP Engine Review

Now that I'm back on the WordPress bandwagon and have been using WPEngine for a bit of time now, it's time to talk about it. As previously discussed, I opted to use a hosted WordPress solution because of my utter [...]

Check if a PHP class has a certain function

We've previously discussed how to check if a function exists but that only works on standalone functions like the ones built into PHP as well as any user defined functions. Luckily there's a function for that called method_exists(). When speaking [...]

Check if a PHP function exists

Let's use json_encode as an example here. Prior to PHP 5.2.0 JSON support was only available via a PECL extension and since 5.2.0 it's been available as part of the PHP core. You could check that the server is running [...]

Detect Required PHP Version

If you write and/or use open source software, you know that running an up to date version of PHP is a must. This can be a problem sometimes, like if you are running on a host that doesn't run the [...]

Rediscovering WordPress

If you've followed this blog for long enough you know that I've been through quite a few platform solutions over the years. Started with a homegrown blog, moved to WordPress, back again, moved to Tumblr and finally settling on Jekyll [...]

Convert Errors to Exceptions in PHP

I was having a conversation with a buddy of mine the other day and we got on the topic of PHP not having a very standardized error system. Now that he's working with Python the mix of errors and exceptions [...]

Why I always wear a helmet

When I first starting biking as my primary mode of transportation to my office I felt like I was wearing a helmet mainly because I hadn't rode a bike in something like 15 years. It's true what they say, you [...]

Speed up PHP with APC

The Alternative PHP Cache (APC) is a PECL package that provides an opcode cache for PHP. Rasmus Lerdorf is the lead of the project along with a handful of other developers. What is an opcode cache? Before I can answer [...]

How to Build a Leaderboard with PHP and Redis

One of biggest draws to Redis for me is the fact that it has more data structure types than just key / value. These additional data structures allow you to do some amazing things while still benefitting from being in-memory [...]