Modern PHP: New Features and Best Practices

Introduction

The book "Modern PHP: New Features and Best Practices" (original title Modern PHP: New Features and Good Practices) by Josh Lockhart is not just another textbook on the language, but rather a manifesto for those who want to write PHP professionally, cleanly, and efficiently. Published in 2015, it remains relevant today because it lays down fundamental principles that do not become outdated: modularity, testability, adherence to standards, and the use of modern tools.

Josh Lockhart is a well-known developer in the PHP community, creator of the popular micro-framework Slim, and an active participant in the movement for PHP standardization (PSR). His experience and authority make this book especially valuable for those who want to transition from "craftsman-like" coding to professional development.

What this book is about

The book consists of 12 chapters that cover key aspects of modern PHP development. It does not teach syntax from scratch — it assumes the reader is already familiar with the basics of the language. Instead, the author focuses on how to use PHP correctly in real-world projects.

Main topics:

• New features of PHP 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and an overview of PHP 7 — traits, generators, closures, return type declarations, the spaceship operator, and much more.
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) — SOLID principles, patterns