Extensions
![Procedurally Generated Game Terrain with React, PHP, and WebSockets](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1490524051Screenshot-2017-03-26-12.27.04.png)
Chris uses ReactJS, PHP, and Websockets to demonstrate how we can procedurally generate game terrain for our rip-off of Stardew Valley!
![Game Development with React and PHP: How Compatible Are They?](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1490513985stardew.png)
Chris bootstraps a basic Stardew-Valley-like game in this game development with PHP post, using an async server, preprocessors, and ReactJS!
![ReactJS in PHP: Writing Compilers Is Easy and Fun!](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/1469778724building-blocks.jpg)
Christopher Pitt is back with another esoteric use case in PHP land - building custom compilers! Here he builds one which can process ReactJS code in PHP!
![There’s a Gender Extension for PHP](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1497648155elephant-baby-shower-set-2-Converted.png)
Did you know PHP has an extension for determining genders of first names? It's quite pointless on all levels, and still in the core manual. Weird!
![Can You Build a CLI Image Drawing Laravel App with These Packages?](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1487696168Final-01.png)
This time, we look at a package that lets us interactively add code to Laravel from the command line, an image drawing package, and much more.
![Getting to Know and Love Xdebug](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1492509685402_RGlmZmVyZW50MTYtb3JhbmdlLTIz-Converted.png)
Let's take a fresh look at Xdebug, the de-facto PHP debugger, which turned an epic 15 years old this month. A quick look at some tricks, tips, and features!
![Upgrading from Pthreads v2 to v3: What to Look out For](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/1490043574parallel-threads.png)
Thomas shows us the difference between Pthreads 2 and 3 and explains the upgrade procedure - the changes are big and backwards-incompatible, but worth it.
![Parallel Programming with Pthreads in PHP – the Fundamentals](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1487158221background280-Converted.png)
Thomas explains the most recent version of pthreads targeting PHP 7+ and demonstrates all the new features it brought along. Get started with parallelism!
![How PHP Executes – from Source Code to Render](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/14832800993752-Converted.jpg)
Thomas Punt goes through the four stages of PHP execution - from lexing to compilation and optimization. Here's what you make happen, daily!
![What Would You Pay to Make 27% of the Web More Secure?](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1480078351internet-security-blue-01-Converted.png)
We talked to Scott Arciszewski who is intent on writing a PHP polyfill for libsodium, with the potential to increase the security of at least 27% of the web
![Sourcehunt – Open Source Week Edition](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1479738394Final-02.png)
It's open source week at SitePoint, and this sourcehunt is an excellent starter, listing some amazing and diverse projects from this month and the last.
![Testing PHP Code with Atoum – an Alternative to PHPUnit](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/1476975754logo-die-cut.png)
Matthew Setter takes an introductory look at atoum - an alternative to PHPUnit with an interesting twist
![Phpseclib: Securely Communicating with Remote Servers via PHP](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/1475494409272063.jpg)
Viraj introduces Phpseclib: a package for securely communicating with a remote server via PHP. Execute commands, list dir trees, schedule crons, and more!
![Up and Running with the Fastest PHP Framework on PHP7 in 5 Mins](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1471894443Screenshot-2016-08-22-21.33.51.png)
Phalcon is back - and in style! It can now run on PHP 7, and is written completely in Zephir. Easy extension development AND perfect performance!
![Can We Have Static Types in PHP without PHP 7 or HHVM?](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/1469449181Fotolia_85953630_Subscription_Monthly_M.jpg)
Is it possible to have static type hints in PHP 5 without PHP 7 or HHVM? Yes - with the Augmented Types extension from Box!
![PHP, Arduino, And… Minecraft? Connecting an Arduino to PHP!](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/1469245733buzzer.jpg)
Chris connects an Arduino to PHP and reads the log output to signal a LED on a certain condition, completing the real world Minecraft door-alarm
![Composer Global Require Considered Harmful?](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1469264835composer.png)
Installing composer packages globally can cause some dependency conflicts. Here's how to get around it with the help of a new, alternative tool.
Younes take a more detailed look at php-intl, this time focusing on localized dates, currencies, numbers, calendars, and more
Confused by php-intl and localization in general? Don't be! Younes explains what it's all about and guides us through some examples!
In this edition of sourcehunt, we look at cron managers for PHP, a Laravel Hackathon starter kit, a PHP-GUI package that lets you do desktop-PHP, and more
There are many approaches to internationalizing an app. Here's one using Gettext, Twig, and a solid application skeleton for a demo!
Christopher Pitt dives deeper into PHP macros, using them to add some functional programming to PHP!
Composer recently went into beta and made plugin development much easier. Chris Pitt shows you how by developing an "evil" data-snooping plugin!
Younes Rafie looks at building awesome OctoberCMS form field widgets for deeply customized inputs and making OctoberCMS a true business-worthy CMS
![An In-depth Walkthrough of Supercharging Apps with Blackfire](https://uploads.sitepoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/1509584059blackfire_feature.jpg)
M. Lavaryen explains the Blackfire profiler in depth and demonstrates its use on a simple script, laying the groundwork for further exploration on your end!
Zack Wallace walks us through a paradigm-shifting new template engine, Transphporm, which uses CSS selectors to alter template content. Intrigued? Come see!
Reza goes through Elixir, a Laravel addon for front-end asset management. Compilation, minification, optimization, versioning and more - check it out!
Daniel Berman from Zend walks you through using Z-Ray to optimize your WordPress apps hosted on Microsoft's cloud hosting - Azure.
Younes Rafie re-introduces Monolog, the PSR-3 logging package for PHP which allows you to log messages from your app to files, Slack channels, and much more
Younes introduces the Web Driver API integration with PHPUnit by utilizing Facebook's Webdriver for PHP to simulate a browser and automate it