It is a given that one needs to have a local server set up in order to develop and test PHP applications. Most people use Apache, either by installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL individually or by installing one of the LAMP, WAMP, or MAMP packages. Until recently, that was the route I took, using XAMPP Lite from Apache Friends. Read more...

Licensing of software is an important, fascinating, and very difficult to understand subject. Developers, some of the people who are affected the most by licensing issues, have the most difficult time understanding the different types of license that are available. I know I do. Read more...

If you've read any Isaac Asimov or seen the movie Bicentennial Man, you've heard the term positronic brain. The positronic brain was the factor that gave Asimov's robots their consciousness and decision-making abilities. Read more...

One of the things I've missed most in learning PHP is a debugger. A debugger is a necessity for productive work in any programming language. You need a debugger to step through code to understand how it works and is being called. You need a debugger to examine variables. Read more...