Weekly Ask Anything Thread

Feel free to ask any questions you think may not warrant a post. Asking for help here is also fine.

https://redd.it/1jyp9dj
@r_php

Weekly help thread

Hey there!

This subreddit isn't meant for help threads, though there's one exception to the rule: in this thread you can ask anything you want PHP related, someone will probably be able to help you out!

https://redd.it/1jyrvsh
@r_php

How I Build SaaS Using Backpack for Laravel
https://backpackforlaravel.com/articles/tutorials/how-to-build-saas-using-backpack-for-laravel

https://redd.it/1jysm25
@r_php

Issue with Asset Mapper in Symfony (CSS import)

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a Symfony project and using Asset Mapper for the first time. I'm having trouble importing CSS files into a main CSS file. Here’s the situation:

- My admin.css file works fine when I add CSS directly to it.
- However, when I try to use @import './components/admin/_stat_card.css' inside admin.css, it doesn’t work.

### Additional details:
- The path seems correct (based on my project structure), but in the browser, I get the following error:

  GET https://localhost/assets/styles/components/admin/_stat_card.css net::ERR_ABORTED 404 (Not Found)
  

- Here’s the structure of my assets/ folder:

  assets/
  ├── styles/
  │   ├── admin.css
  │   └── components/
  │       └── admin/
  │           └── _stat_card.css
  

### Asset Mapper Configuration:
Here is my config/packages/asset_mapper.yaml file:

framework:
    asset_mapper:
        # The paths to make available to the asset mapper.
        paths:
            - assets/
        missing_import_mode: strict

when@prod:
    framework:
        asset_mapper:
            missing_import_mode: warn

### What I’ve checked:
1. The _stat_card.css file exists in the correct location.
2. I used the command php bin/console asset-map to confirm that my files are properly mapped.
3. I tried using a relative path in the import, like this: @import './components/admin/_stat_card.css';.

Despite all this, the error persists, and the imported file is not found.

### Questions:
- Did I miss something in my configuration?
- Does Asset Mapper handle CSS imports (@import) as I expect?

Thanks in advance for your help!

https://redd.it/1jyuyrq
@r_php

PHP and Service layer pattern

Hello, I have a small SaaS as a side product, for a long time I used to be a typical MVC guy. The views layer sends some requests to the controller's layer, the controller handles the business logic, then sends some commands to the model layer, and so on. By the time the app went complicated - while in my full-time job we used to use some "cool & trendy" stuff like services & repository pattern- I wanted to keep things organized. Most of the readings around the internet is about yelling at us to keep the business logic away of the controllers, and to use something like the service layer pattern to keep things organized. However, I found myself to move the complexity from the controller layer to the service layer, something like let's keep our home entrance clean and move all the stuff to the garage which makes the garage unorganized. My question is, how do you folks manage the service layer, how to keep things organized. I ended up by enforcing my services to follow the "Builder Pattern" to keep things mimic & organized, but not sure if this is the best way to do tho or not. Does the Builder Pattern is something to rely on with the services layer? In the terms of maintainability, testability ... etc.

Another direction, by keeping things scalar as much as possible and pass rely on the arguments, so to insert a blog post to the posts table & add blog image to the images table, I would use posts service to insert the blog post and then get the post ID to use it as an argument for the blog images service.

https://redd.it/1jyurvf
@r_php

Should a Backend Engineer Learn AI or Focus Solely on Backend Skills? How to Become a Senior Backend Engineer?

Should a backend engineer consider learning more about AI, or is it better to concentrate on strengthening backend-specific skills? What are the best ways to become a senior backend engineer?

https://redd.it/1jyvg95
@r_php

Xdebug hangs on breakpoint after upgrading to PHP 8.3

https://preview.redd.it/w39y5sfprsue1.png?width=2048&format=png&auto=webp&s=63c94720f4b58659529206cfaf3a0879c1a893d0

Not sure if this is the right sub for this, but here it goes.

I'm currently upgrading from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.3, and I'm running into a really strange issue when using Postman to make requests to my API while debugging with Xdebug.

https://preview.redd.it/xidh3g60tsue1.png?width=822&format=png&auto=webp&s=1c9bce5279cd45936a86b3848400ab2ffe483b19

If I don’t set any breakpoints in the code, everything works fine and I get the expected response. But if I set any breakpoint (literally anywhere), the request just hangs and eventually fails with an error in Postman.

On the PHPStorm side, everything seems to be properly configured — PHP version, Xdebug port, path mappings, etc.

I’ve tested a ton of things already, and I’m quite certain the issue is with Xdebug itself — but I can’t figure out if it’s a misconfiguration in PHPStorm or if I’m just doing something wrong.

I'm using:
PHP 8.3.8
Xdebug 3.3.2
Symfony 5.9.1

Any ideas or pointers would be greatly appreciated!

https://redd.it/1jyyeq3
@r_php

Need Better Filtering, Searching & Sorting for DataTables in Laravel? Check Out Query Builder Criteria! 🚀

https://preview.redd.it/f3yxxnr8ntue1.png?width=1712&format=png&auto=webp&s=246f8771f46dac46f6932422c04208016cc30c44



Hey everyone! I just released a Laravel package called Query Builder Criteria, designed to make filtering, sorting, and paginating large datasets much easier—especially for datatables, admin panels, and management apps.

🔹 Automatically applies filters & sorting from the request query string
🔹 Encapsulates query logic into reusable, maintainable criteria
🔹 Keeps controllers & repositories clean
🔹 Works seamlessly with pagination for large datasets

If you’re tired of cluttered query logic and want a clean, scalable approach to handling dynamic queries, check it out on GitHub:

🔗 **github.com/omaressaouaf/query-builder-criteria**

Would love to hear your thoughts—feedback & contributions are welcome! 🚀

https://redd.it/1jz26i2
@r_php

Data modeling a course platform with Laravel and Stripe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoCTIqthNRw

https://redd.it/1jz7071
@r_php

PHP Error Types Explained - Warnings, Notices, Fatal Errors, etc.

The article explains the different types of errors encountered in PHP programming and their significance: Common PHP Error Types Explained - Warnings, Notices & Fatal Errors

It categorizes PHP errors based on their severity and impact on noscript execution, providing examples and solutions for each type. The main error types discussed include fatal errors, parse errors, warnings, noticse, deprecated errors.

The article also includes debugging strategies and emphasizes the importance of understanding these error levels to ensure effective troubleshooting and maintain best practices in PHP development. It also includes debugging strategies and emphasizes the importance of understanding these error levels to ensure effective troubleshooting.

https://redd.it/1jzip2p
@r_php

Form data validation with regular expression

My form builder site allows users to specify a regular expression for html 5 input pattern validation.

In addition to validating this on the client side with html5, the service also validates on the server side after submission as client side validation can be circumvented (e.g. by removing the pattern attribute in browser dev tools).

Client side regex on pattern attribute is compiled with the "v" flag which "enhances Unicode support in regular expressions, enabling the use of set notation, string literals within character classes, and properties of strings".

On the server side my noscript checks the input matches the pattern but the "v" flag is not available in php regex functions (I'm on php 8.3) so I am using the "u" flag.

Is this likely to fail in any circumstance? Is there a way to ensure the results are the same in JS and PHP?

Thanks guys.

https://redd.it/1jzlavw
@r_php

Simple php based anayltics

I have just created a very simple self hosted anayltics noscript: https://github.com/elzahaby/php-analytics/tree/main

would love to hear your opinon. The goal was to create a simple but useful anayltics noscript that allows me to ditch google analytics and since it is based on server data it doesn't require any cookies consent as far as I know.

Looking forward to hear your thoughts and what features you wish for or how to improve it :)

https://redd.it/1jzpu5a
@r_php

SymfonyLive Paris 2025: Recap and replay!
https://symfony.com/blog/symfonylive-paris-2025-recap-and-replay?utm_source=Symfony%20Blog%20Feed&utm_medium=feed

https://redd.it/1jzu1rt
@r_php

A new #phpstan capability which will be available with the upcoming release: Remembered types from constructor
https://staabm.github.io/2025/04/15/phpstan-remember-constructor-types.html

https://redd.it/1k00lnx
@r_php

Locale-Aware Compact Number Formatting in PHP with NumberFormatter
https://ungureanu.blog/2025/04/15/locale-aware-compact-number-formatting-in-php-with-numberformatter/

https://redd.it/1jzbl8q
@r_php

How do I create an emoji font file, specific to a website and app?

I'm a total NOOB when it comes to stuff about emojis, from the system side.

Okay, what I'm about to ask is wild, and I know its a strong chance I won't getting any full on tutorials for this. I just need some leads at least into the right direction.

Long story short, I'm working with a team to build a website/app for various online use for our target audience. The emoji system is painfully limited, and are based on the Microsoft Segoe UI for Windows. Platforms often have their own emoji, Facebook, Discord, Youtube, while like Reddit DO use the Segoe UI it seems. What would I need to do, in order to create emojis for my team's website/app?

ASSUMPTIONS
This is what I assume it would require, and I'd like some insight before I proceed to waste my time with these guesses.

Custom font: the site would need it's own font, that is unique to the site, in order to display emoji.

OTF font type: to house a lot of emoji glyphs, and of course, SVG vectors as emoji.

SVG: all emoji art I'd assume would have to be SVGs, in order to be scalable and work with the font face.

Some kinda "encoding": for lack of better phrasing, once the file is created, you'll need to like... perform some kind of formatting or "encoding" so the font file is properly compatible for web and mobile use.

PHP: I'm learning some bare bones in navigating PHP (this project calls for it), and I believe there's some some sort of .php file and line(s) of code to implement your font, and some more PHP knowhow to implement your emoji.

ANY HELP is majorly appreciated, any leads, just anything.

https://redd.it/1k09hln
@r_php

Resources to learn pure php best practices?

I recently have become involved in maintaining a legacy php application running php 7. Does anyone have any recommendations for learning the fundamentals of php?

I come from a web dev background mostly using rails. The application I'm working with generally makes sense to me, and I am able to get things working. However I'd love to have some idea what I'm doing beyond simply making things work.

We're attempting to build out some new features with moderately complex logics. More intricate DB interactions, users submitting/displaying html, including a few JS libraries, and some other stuff. Im very interested in getting a better understanding of php in order to properly design these features.

https://redd.it/1k0eui7
@r_php

What do you like least about Laravel?

Laravel is a great framework, and most of us love working with it. It’s simple, powerful, and gets you pretty far without much sweat.

But what’s the thing you like least about it as a dev?

Could it be simpler? Should it be simpler?

Has convention over configuration gone too far—or not far enough?

Any boilerplate that still bugs you?

https://redd.it/1k0fn4t
@r_php

Locale-Aware Compact Number Formatting in PHP with NumberFormatter
https://ungureanu.blog/2025/04/15/locale-aware-compact-number-formatting-in-php-with-numberformatter/

https://redd.it/1k0fizz
@r_php

LangChain alternative for PHP developers
https://inspector.dev/langchain-alternative-for-php-developers/

https://redd.it/1k0jcjc
@r_php

Looking to Join an Interesting Project

Hey everyone!

I’ve been feeling really motivated lately to collaborate on something meaningful or just plain fun. I’m not here to pitch my own idea – I actually want to join someone else’s project and contribute however I can.

Whether you're working on a startup, a coding project, an open-source tool, a game, or even a creative non-tech endeavor – if you’re passionate about it, I’d love to hear about it. I'm eager to jump in and help with development, design, testing, brainstorming, or just being that extra pair of hands to keep things moving.

Let me know if you have something I can help you!

https://redd.it/1k0o4vs
@r_php