PHP is funny but in the long run, it can’t compete with strong type languages.

So far, I have to deal with the next problems:

• Async operations. PHP has some async operations but they are mostly hacky or use a different library that “changes the whole working pipeline” (such as Swoole, which doesn’t work in Windows so it is a big deal for me). So, PHP could do some async tasks but nothing native.

  • Why is it a big deal? Performance. Even if your (cloud) server is single-core, it still could use and enjoy the use of multiple threads.

• Refactoring. Refactoring is a PITA. Even if you use some library, sooner or later you will need to refactor and it will involve a lot of manual changes. There are some tools but they aren’t foolproof.

• Frameworks. For PHP Laravel IS-THE-MOST-POPULAR framework (by a long shoot). However, it is not perfect. Laravel is more of a syntax sugar wrapper in some classes, and while it works, it doesn’t bring much of the native functionalities of PHP. And for Code Igniter, it is the same as Laravel but the syntax is more sandy than sweet.

• Dealing with XML. It is not common but it could happen. PHP is unable to deal with XML. Example:

<root>
    <items>
         <item>cocacola</item>
         <item>fanta</item>
    </items>
</root>

• PHP will understand it (more or less) as:

{
  "items":[
      {"item":"cocacola"},
      {"item":"fanta"}
 ]
}

So, the field items are understood as an array of elements.

However, if the XML is:

<root>
    <items>
         <item>fanta</item>
    </items>
</root>

Then PHP understood it as

{
  "items":{"item":"cocacola"}
}

So it changes the meaning of the item depending if it has more than 1 element or not. And of course, it can’t deal (without manual changes) with:

<root>
    <items atr=20 atr2="22">
    </items>
</root>

• And PHP could fail with JSON too. For PHP

{
"items":[]
}

And

{
"items":{}
}

are the same even when conceptually they are different.

• Lacks of tooling. The best IDE for PHP is PHPStorm, bar none. However, it is not for free (but Jetbrains is giving free alternatives for some developers). The other alternative is Visual Studio Code but it works like a powerhyped notepad than a proper IDE. The best plugin for Visual Studio Code is a paid one, so working for PHP requires some investment (or work without tooling which is insane for a big project).

• Debug features: PHP lacks it. There is a plugin called XDebug but it works (more or less) half of the time. In some cases, it is impossible to properly debug a code without some hacky solution. Most developers use var_dump() & php_error.log file but it is a no-go for a huge project.

• PHP doesn’t have the concept of Application. It is a worthy feature that could be used in many ways, including caching. PHP could create an Application to do some hacky features.

• PHP is not memory-friendly. It has some nice memory usage tricks, however:

$a=["hello","world"];
$b=$a; // $b doesn't use much memory because it uses the same memory as $a, so it is nice trick.
// However $a uses (more or less) 32 bytes (it could be more)

The same example in C#

var a1 = new[] { "hello", "world" }; // 16 bytes (more or less, plus some static stuff but you get the idea)

• In PHP, the more complex the array, then the worse, and it heavily requires the use of lookup.

$customer=[
    "name":"john",
    "address":[
              "street":"sunset blv",
              "country":[
                        "name":"canada"
                       ]
              ]
];
var_dump($customer["address"]["country"]["name"]); // uses 3 lookups.
// do it with an array of 10000 customers and you get why it is a big deal.

• PHP lacks data types.

  • int

  • float

  • string

  • and boolean

  • (and others such as object, etc.)

Example:

$x = 12.6;
$y= 10;
$z = $x - $y; // 2.6
var_dump( $z == 2.6 ); // false $z shows 2.6 but in reality, it is 2.5999999..

One solution is to round the values but it is not practical for the long round. Another solution is to use an extension. We can use a proper decimal value (instead of a float) adding an extension to PHP. However, since it is not native, then serializing the value is a challenge per se, and most in-build functions don’t work.

• Classes aren’t tricky and sometimes it doesn’t work as expected. Also, in Laravel, model classes are arrays in disguise under the syntax sugar of magic methods.

class Customer {
   public $name;
   public $address;
}
$customer=new Customer();
$customer->name="xxx";
$customer->address="yyyy";
$json=json_serialize($customer);
var_dump($json); // {"name":"xxx","address":"yyyy"}
var_dump(json_deserialize($json)); // it returns astdclass. 😬

• PHP is not null safety. PHP 8.2, 8.3. and 8.4 have added new features but nulls could still happen.

What is my conclusion?

Developing for PHP is fast initially (no compile stage is neat) but its a show stopper in the long run.

What is the alternative?

• C#

  • Pro: multiple platforms (however I won’t recommend MAUI and Xamarin), LINQ, lots of tooling, active community, and free IDE for small companies (Visual Studio)

  • Cons: Microsoft, also Microsoft is using C# to try to sell their online services (Net Aspire, Microsoft authentications nonsense, etc.)

• Kotlin

  • Pro: multiple platforms, compatible with Java. A huge library is available (because of Java). Lots of toolings, active community, and free IDE (android studio / IntelliJ with some restrictions).

  • Cons: Oracle (but we could use a community runtime machine). Some popular libraries are dusty and we need to let it go (Spring Boot). Also, Kotlin adopted a lot of nonsense from Java. 🤣

What is NOT an alternative?

• Python: Because it works similar to PHP but with a worse performance

What is the worst alternative?

• JavaScript (server size).

I had to analyze and read 14739 folders using PHP, which took over half an hour.

While PHP has some async functionalities, they don’t work in Windows. However, some solutions are still available, such as using CURL calls, exec calls, and COM calls, but, these are based on calling the functionality without getting an answer. What progress does it have? What if the operation failed?

So, one solution is to use JavaScript and PHP in tandem. Why?

• JavaScript could coordinate a visual interface and the async calls.

• While PHP does the job.

Then I created this simple library:

EFTEC/MultiOne: MultiOne is a library to execute concurrent tasks programmed in PHP using JavaScript

How does it work?

It works in 3 stages:

• Starting the jobs and creating the payload for every worker. A worker is the process that does its job.

• Every worker does his job

• And when every worker ends, you can do a final operation.

The code:

First, we create an instance of the class

use Eftec\MultiOne\MultiOne;
$work=MultiOne::Factory(
    1000, // miliseconds
    basename(__FILE__), // the file to call (itself)
    4 // number of workers
);

And we want to call the next 3 functions

Create the initial works (4 workers, 4 jobs). It could be any value and not just arrays.

In this case, every worker will be assigned an array or values.

    static function($numWorkers) {
        $work=[
            ["apple","banana","pear","orange","lemon"],
            ["alpha","beta","gamma","delta"],
            ["tango","charlie","foxtrot"],
            [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12],
        ];
        return $work; // we give every worker a work
    }

Second, we do the work. In this case, we pop an element at the end of the array and we display it. If the array is empty, then we send an “end” command (we stop the worker)

static function($idWorker, $payload) {
        usleep(500);
        $current=array_pop($payload); // apple, banana, etc.
        if($current===null) {
            return MultiOne::msgAnswer('end',$payload,$current.' work done');
        }
        return MultiOne::msgAnswer('run',$payload,$current);
    }

And third, when every worker has stopped, we could do a final operation. In this case, we are only returning a simple message.

static function($payloads) {
    return 'work done';
}

We add those 3 functions as follows

$work->setMethods(
    static function($numWorkers) {
        $work=[
            ["apple","banana","pear","orange","lemon"],
            ["alpha","beta","gamma","delta"],
            ["tango","charlie","foxtrot"],
            [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12],
        ];
        return $work; // we give every worker a work
    },
    static function($idWorker, $payload) {
        usleep(500);
        $current=array_pop($payload);
        if($current===null) {
            return MultiOne::msgAnswer('end',$payload,$current.' work done');
        }
        return MultiOne::msgAnswer('run',$payload,$current);
    },
    static function($payloads) {
        return 'work done';
    }
);

Finally, we execute the class

$work->runAuto();

Our entire code will look as follows

$work=MultiOne::Factory(
    1000, // miliseconds
    basename(__FILE__), // the file to call (itself)
    4 // number of workers
);
$work->setMethods(
    static function($numWorkers) {
        $work=[
            ["apple","banana","pear","orange","lemon"],
            ["alpha","beta","gamma","delta"],
            ["tango","charlie","foxtrot"],
            [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12],
        ];
        return $work; // we give every worker a work
    },
    static function($idWorker, $payload) {
        usleep(500);
        $current=array_pop($payload);
        if($current===null) {
            return MultiOne::msgAnswer('end',$payload,$current.' work done');
        }
        return MultiOne::msgAnswer('run',$payload,$current);
    },
    static function($payloads) {
        return 'work done';
    }
);
$work->runAuto();

If we call this PHP file, it will show the next values

It’s simple and it works.

A new version

Code:

$work=MultiOne::Factory(
    1000, // miliseconds
    basename(__FILE__), // the file to call (itself)
    4 // number of workers
);
$work->setMethods(
    static function($numWorkers) {
        $work=[
            [["apple","banana","pear","orange","lemon"],5],
            [["alpha","beta","gamma","delta"],4],
            [["tango","charlie","foxtrot"],3],
            [[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12],12],
        ];
        return $work; // we give every worker a work
    },
    static function($idWorker, $payload) {
        usleep(500);
        $txt=str_repeat('📦',count($payload[0])).str_repeat('✅',$payload[1]-count($payload[0]));
        $current=array_pop($payload[0]);
        if($current===null) {
            return MultiOne::msgAnswer('end',$payload,$txt);
        }
        return MultiOne::msgAnswer('run',$payload,$txt);
    },
    static function($payloads) {
        return 'work done';
    }
);
$work->runAuto();

What is a NAS?. NAS is a machine to serve data (videos, documents, backups) using the network but it also could work to serve other purposes, such as audio and video streaming, among other tasks.

There are several NASs devices in the market, such as Synology, Qnap, etc. However, they could be quite expensive, commonly over $500 without disks.

So, what is the alternative? This:

• Buy a cheap and used computer (an i3 from 10 years ago). I purchased one for $100 but I could go as low as $50. It mustn't be a slim case or mini factor unless you want to use only one disk. It also must have a network port, 1gigabit or higher. 2.5 gigabit is ideal.

• Get or reuse some hard disks, ideally if you have them in pairs. I have 2x4tb and 2x3tb. They are not SSDs but I need capability, not speed.

My computer comes with Windows 10, and while Windows 10 could do the job, I decided to try with Ubuntu Server

Ubuntu as NAS

I installed Ubuntu server and later I configured the GUI. At first, I tried slim+Gnome but I found that Gnome is horrible, it s***cks, so I decided to install KDE plasma and it is much more usable.

I don't have much trouble installing the drivers, after all, my machine is old, so the community already developed most of its drivers.

Then, I installed SMB following the official guide

Install and Configure Samba | Ubuntu

But, I found my main problem, I forgot that Linux does not work well with NTFS. Linux uses different kinds of partitions, such as EXT3, EXT4, etc. So, I should migrate all my data 2x4tb, 2x3tb (16tb) to somewhere else, format to ext4 or other kind of partition, and copy the data back?. That will take a lot of time, and space.

Also, I found that some energy-saving features of my PC are not specifically available on Linux and I want to save as much energy as possible.

So I think...

Do I really need Linux at all?

Well, not really. I only want to serve files and SMB is more than enough, and if not, NFS.

Also, Windows Server could do software raid (mirror) which is more than enough for the job.

File Sharing options

There are different ways to serve files locally and remotely

• SMB (samba). It is natively compatible with Windows but it also runs in Linux and MacOS, i.e. it runs everywhere. I don't need Linux to have a SMB server.

• NFS, is another way to serve files, it works in Linux, MacOS but is also available on Windows (only on Windows Server).

• ftp/sftp, it is another alternative but it is slower in comparison with SMB and NFS. It could be installed on Windows but not natively.

• iSCSI is another way to serve a file, it is fast but it is limited to sharing a partition and only to one customer.

In my case Windows Server is the solution, it fits all of them but generally, SMB is more than enough.

Windows Server

There are 4 alternatives to have Windows Server.

• Buy a copy but it costs as much as $300, and only the basic version. Meh

• "Seven Sea, Jack Sparrow" Version (wink wink)

• Install the evaluation version and rearm it every 180 days. It is possible to use it for free up to 3 years.

• Or buy a "cd key" for cheap, i.e. around $5-$30 bucks.

ps: If you are running a business, then your only option is to buy the expensive version.

I decided on Windows Server 2019 because it is the most up-to-date, but also it is compatible with my machine, I don't know if Windows Server 2022 will work but it looks more power-hungry and my machine is 10 years old. Windows Server 2016 would also work but as far as I can remember, Windows Server 2019 updated the SMB stack.

Why Windows Server?

Linux has some perks, such as running with low resources, but my machine even when it is old, it has 8gb of ram, and it is an i3.

Linux could run as low as 512mb of ram but generally, it runs with 1gb or more of ram.

Windows could run as low as 512mb of ram (without GUI) but the ideal is 4gb of ram. So I have 8gb, so I have plenty of ram. Even 4gb would do the job.

In Amazon terms, 8gb is around a m7g.large instance. So in terms of cloud, my machine is not small at all.

It is my machine running: (maybe I could lower the use of RAM of the GPU because I am not using it much)

Performance

To increase the performance, I disabled the next service's

• antivirus: out. This machine will not run any other program. It affects the performance of the disks.

• windows update: out. This machine will not be connected to the Internet. And I could do manual update once in a while, I don't need Windows constantly updating my Machine.

• Several unrequited services: out.

Results

• I can copy/move files as fast as 88MBps. In theory, the gigabit LAN could 125MBps, but with the overhead and other considerations, a real maximum number is around 90-100MBps, so it is getting to the limit.

Next

The next step (in a near future, I hope) is to try a 2.5gigabit lan. Why not 10gigabit?

• Price

• I doubt that my hard disks could achieve that speed without RAIDing them

Also, I wish to try NFS but I doubt that it will show a big difference with SMB.

Change the edge link to:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe" --enable-features=msEdgeAreaSelect

Thank Microsoft for making our life easy.

Currently, companies are getting crazy with the interviews and it is bad for everybody. And the worse, they are picking bad candidates.

Several companies do the process of hiring a marathon, and it is bad slow, expensive, a burden for every party, and finally picks the wrong candidates.

I've seen that big companies pick mediocre workers (and it is practically the standard) while small companies usually pick better collaborators. Why? Bad process of interviews.

What does a big company do? A highlander competition. And it is magnet for cheaters, liars and seasoned candidates.

What does a small company do?

Weeing the bad CV, they do a few interviews which finally end with a handshake and the next question: "Can you start tomorrow?".

PS: Collaborators are usually more compromised in small companies, and they are willing to work extra for no payment or do jobs over their responsibilities.

The not right list:

• Getting late. C'mon, you aren't a doctor.

• Memory game. Just don't. Google works and everybody has access to it.

• A written test. Again, no. You are not hiring a school student, you are hiring an adult.

• Complain if the interviewer arrives early. You are missing exactly the candidate you really want to hire: somebody who wants the job.

• Staging and multiple interviews. First with the psychologist, then with the technical, then with some middle boss, and later with Bob the Janitor. Just no!.

• Rejecting a candidate because he or she got nervous. Again no. You really want to hire somebody who wants the job.

• Don't do technical questions because you are one of many interviewers and you are not the technical interviewer. Again no. If you are not the technical interviewer then you must learn the topic (at least the basics), or at least ask the technical group questions. You must do technical questions because you are hiring somebody to do A DAMN JOB.

• Don't do personal questions because of boundaries, etc. You must ask personal questions. If the question is not legally permitted to be asked, then you can say to the candidate he is not obliged to answer. Why? Because you are hiring a person.

• Listen to sob stories. Spoiler: Everybody has a sob story.

• Ghost a candidate: That is silly. For example, I picked a candidate but he turned out my proposal (he found a better job, nothing strange because he was good at it). So, I decided to pick the second on the list, and he was unavailable. Finally, I hired the third one.

• Don't send reject emails because we don't do that. That is a bad practice. If you have been in this "rodeo" for so long, then you have seen the same faces over and over. If you ghost a candidate, then most likely, the candidate will hate and distrust you, and he/she will be less willing to go to another interview with you.

• Colors tests.

• Rorschach tests (yes, some interviewers still use it)

• Draw a tree/etc.

• Don't talk about money. If you are an interviewer, then you know the budget, so if the candidate fits in the job, then you must give him THE NUMBER, plus the other perks (a remote job is a nice perk). A bold interviewer starts with a fixed number.

• Don't be cheap. If the company gives you a budget of $50-$150 (it is just an example), then you must never ever go to the lower price. You are not a slave master, you are an interviewer, and you want to hire the best in the budget, not the cheapest one (who is usually the worst one of the guys that will jump to a better job). So, if the budget is between $50-150, then go for $100-150, commonly $120, so you can lower if the candidate hasn't enough experience and raise it if is the best candidate.

• Multi-round interview. <-- why?

The selling point

• Your pool of candidates is your strength. You want to have the most candidates. It's horrible when you want to hire somebody that you are unable to find a candidate, and it happens, a lot of times, especially for specialist jobs.

• Be fast and personal. For example, X company wants to hire a new HVAC technician. If you spend an hour per candidate, then you could interview at most 8 candidates per day. Time is ticking and most likely the company wants the candidate for yesterday. Instead, if you do a 15-minute interview, then you could interview more than 30 candidates per day. So, in a single day, you can make a decision and everybody will be happy: your company, you, and the candidate. And don't forget to contact the rejected candidates. Remember, they are your strength. Even the rejected ones could be useful in the future, including cheaters/liars.

How to do a good interview.

• Be personal and humble. Offer him/her something to drink. That is not a position, that is a strategy.

• Ask the regular questions, but remember, to be fast and short.

• Ask technical questions. Are you clueless about the job? It is not a problem. Just ask who asks the job for a couple of questions or go for the Internet. For example, to hire an HVAC technician. What the hell is HVAC? Go to the internet and see it by yourself. Example the next image: So, an HVAC technician is required to use tools, work in the ceiling, use safety measures, and maybe a certification. You have a lot of questions.

• 

• Remember: you are the interviewer, so the candidate must explain their job. For example: the HVAC: "So, you use a gauge thing tool, what does it do?

  • Bad answer: I don't know... (or a short and generic answer).

  • Good answer: That is a pressure meter, it does... (the more technical the answer, then the better the candidate, why? If the candidate loves his job, then it is exactly who you want to hire, and he or she will talk alot about it). Later you can check its validity on the Internet.

• Ask personal questions. Just keep it professional. Some questions can be considered as "illegal". but you must ask for it regardless of its legality. Just ask politely and voluntarily. YOU MUST ASK FOR IT.

• You must look and his/her face.

• Ask a cueball question: It is because you want to weed out cheaters. Example: "Do you know the brand of HVAC Texan-Star?". (that company does not exist, so any question other than "I don't know" or "there are many companies", is invalid.)

• If you have +1000 candidates, then you WILL NOT INTERVIEW them all. Nobody does but when many interviewers claim they do. It is a lie. Nobody will read 1000 resumes. So, pick the first 100 and do your job.

• Now, if you really want to interview +1000 candidates (for example to hire 200 workers for a new Mall), then use technology. Add a Google Forms (or Microsoft Forms), ask them to fill the form (make it simpler), and save the info on a sheet. Then, filter, filter, and pick your candidates.

Long story short.

I have an account with Atlassian, and I use many of their services. One of my customers mentioned to me the connection between JIRA (a part of the service of Atlassian) and Microsoft 365, so we decided to test JIRA. At first, it was easy, I just signed with my Atlassian account, go to JIRA, and I signed with the service. Fine.. but 5 minutes later I receive the next email:

JIRA never mentioned that I needed some kind of identification.

And worse, my entire account is blocked with all the other services! all my information is captive and not just JIRA.

The email says that I can recover my account using:

Official documentation includes, but is not limited to, a government-issued driver's license or identification card, passport, utility bill, mortgage or bank statement, etc. Please make sure your full name and address are clearly visible.

And it is easy to say than done.

• I pay most of my utilities via my bank, so I don't get bills

• I checked my bank statement (account and credit card) and it shows my name but not my address.

• It is the same with my mortgage, my name but not my address. I think banks (at least in my country, are less willing to show addresses).

So I will use my driver's license and my national id. In any case, it is a huge security risk but, what I can do?

ps: I don't think terrorists use JIRA at all.

ps2: In fact, I think the opposite, terrorists must use JIRA, because f*ck them! while legit users must use something else.

Update July 23, 2023

Today, my account is still disabled, however, I am still receiving spam from part of them to join them in some services. i.e. they want me to join them, using the same account that they blocked. Are they thinking straight?

The email:

 "<div style='margin:10px;width:100px;height:100px;background-color:#;box-shadow:0 3px 6px 1px  #ccc; border-radius:15px'></div>"

And it will look like this one:

Neat!, so we can use the power of HTML inside PowerApps.

But there is more!

What if we want to create objects of different sizes? Simple, Change the HTMLText for this one:

 "<div style='margin:10px;width:" & Self.Width &" px;height:" & (Self.Height-35) &"px;background-color:#;box-shadow:0 3px 6px 1px  #ccc; border-radius:15px'></div>"

So we can use any size and we could copy the HTML objects.

Why "Self.Height-35"? For some reason, if we set the height the same as the container, then this adds a scroll. So we reduce the size of the HTML so we could avoid the scroll

• Self.Height:

• Self.Height-35:

An ORM is an abstraction of the information of the database. For example, let's say we have a list of cities and we want to list it.

It is the PHP PDO version:

$stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT * FROM cities");
$stmt->execute();
$result = $stmt->get_result();
$cities=[];
while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
  $cities[]=$row; 
}
$stmt->close();

While this code could work but it is prone to mistakes and it could be tedious in the long term. What if we could simplify it and turn more focused into a PHP model? That is the concept of ORM.

And it is the ORM version of it.

$cities=CitiesRepo::toList();

The ORM version is simple but there is more about ORM.

In general, ORM allows abstracting access to the database simplifying it.

ORM is not a solution fits all. I will explain it later.

Sometimes we don't want to add a whole framework to do this job, this example is about that.

Getting started

For this example, you will need:

• PHP 7.1 or higher.

  • PHP must have the PDO and PDOMYSQL extensions installed.

• Composer

• Mysql with the example tables

  • For this example, I will use the next database: Sakila-Database-2021

• And we will use the next library:

  • EFTEC/PdoOneORM (github.com)

• 1) Create a new project using composer and add our library. (open a terminal, bash, PowerShell, cmd, etc.)

composer init  # and fill the information of your project.
composer require eftec/pdoonerepo

• If the composer fails, then remember to install it and add it to the path.

• 2) Once it is done and the libraries are downloaded, then run the next command

./vendor/pdooneorm

It will show the next screen

And now, you are in interactive mode.

In interactive mode you can:

• select your own option

• if you write "?" then it shows a simple help, that explains what command does what.

• If you write "??" then it shows technical help

• If you press the key tab, then you can autocomplete the options, so you won't need to write all the options.

• If you press arrow-up or arrow-down then you can navigate in the history (if any).

The first option is it shows [connect] [pending] It is because we aren't connected to the database.

Write "connect" to enter the connect menu so we could create a new connection (remember that you can use autocomplete, i.e. if you write comple<table> then it will autocomplete the rest)

Then enter the option "configure".

And configure your database. If you fail, then you can try it again.

• the type of database: "MySQL"

• the server: 127.0.0.1 in my case.

• The user: root

• The password: abc.123 <-- that is my password, so please keep it secret (wink wink).

• 

• And the schema: "sakila" (or the schema that you want to use)

Once it is done, it will show:

the [ok] says that we are [ok] with this step. For example, you can save without configuration but it does not make any sense.

And about saving, enter the option "save" and save your configuration because you don't want to re-enter the entire configuration every time.

It will save the next file: config.config.php

<?php http_response_code(404); die(1); // eftec/CliOne(1.24) configuration file (date gen: 2023-03-11 17:40)?>
{
    "databaseType": "mysql",
    "server": "127.0.0.1",
    "user": "root",
    "pwd": "abc.123",
    "database": "sakila"
}

You can reload the configuration using the option "load" or call as a flag.

But what this file means?

• It is a PHP file that contains a JSON inside.

Lets me explain about security. Let's say we write this file as config.json and we commit the mistake to avoid locking it, so everybody could read this configuration as mydomain.dom/config.json
Now, since it is a PHP file, then even if it is available directly, then mydomain.dom/config.config.php will return a 404 empty page. So, this file is already safe from prying eyes. How course, it keeps the password in plain sight, so it is not safe if you are exposing your configuration file to others.

It is a really common vulnerability.

About loading the previous configuration, you can load it in interactive mode or you could load it using the command line:

pdooneorm --fileconnect config

You can also save the file as a PHP file. It is the PHP file version

<?php // eftec/CliOne(1.24) PHP configuration file (date gen: 2023-03-11 17:50). DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE 
/**
 * it is the configuration of PdoOne
 */
$pdoOneConfig=[
    'databaseType' => 'mysql',
    'server' => '127.0.0.1',
    'user' => 'root',
    'pwd' => 'abc.123',
    'database' => 'sakila',
];

It is also a safe file and you can expose it to the world and nobody will see its content. This file could be used later to code (or you could simply copy and paste its content).

Creating the repository classes

Once we are connected, we could use the options available in the menu "repo".

It is the repo menu. It has its own configuration but it also requires a connection.

• Use the "scan" option.

• 

  1. it will show that it is reading the structure. It is an important part. The library scans for tables and creates a catalog about what tables exist, what structure, relations, etc.

• 1. Once it is done, then it will show [ok]

• For every new change, then you must run this command.

And now, let's determine the folders. Use the "folder" option.

• 

  Select the relative directory. My example is "repo".

• Select the postfix of the class. If the class is called City, then the repository class will be called CityRepo.

• The current path (for my example) is

  • D:\www\currentproject\PdoOneORM\examples\example2/repo

• For the next step, we will need to configure Composer.

  • It is part of my composer.json

  • 

    I will try to find a namespace that fits my route. In my case, it is my namespace. i.e:

  • folder: D:\www\currentproject\PdoOneORM\examples\

  • namespace: eftec\examples

  • Since my folder is D:\www\currentproject\PdoOneORM\examples\example2/repo

  • then the namespace must be
    eftec\examples\example2\repo

• If you do have not a path in composer, then save your configuration, close the program, then edit composer and re-open the program again.

• 

So, we have configured:

• ✅ connection

• ✅ folder

• ✅scan.

So we could create the code. Use the option "create"

It will populate the repo folder with many files

Mainly there are 3 kinds of files.

• Abstract classes. It will contain the definition of the table, indexes, relations, etc. You should not edit those files because if you "scan" again, it will rebuild this file.

• Repo classes, is the file that you can edit.

• Base class. There is a simple class (in this case called Sakila) that is used for all other classes. It has relations between classes.

Don't forget to save your configuration.

Using the repo classes.

In the same folder, write the next code: example1.php

<?php
include __DIR__."/../../vendor/autoload.php"; // edit the path for the correct one.

$cities=eftec\examples\example2\repo\CityRepo::toList();
var_dump($cities);

If you run this example, then it will fail because you are not connected to the database.

Do the next modification

<?php

use eftec\PdoOneORM;
use eftec\examples\example2\repo\CityRepo;

include __DIR__."/../../vendor/autoload.php"; // edit the path for the correct one.

$conn= PdoOneORM::factoryFromArray([
    'databaseType' => 'mysql',
    'server' => '127.0.0.1',
    'user' => 'root',
    'pwd' => 'abc.123',
    'database' => 'sakila',
]); // you can include the PHP file generated previously or copy and paste its configuration.
$conn->open(); // opens the database connection. $conn is a singleton, so you don't need to open it every time you want to use.
$conn->logLevel=3; // it is optional,

$cities=CityRepo::toList(); // $conn is injected automatically inside every "Repo" class.
var_dump($cities);

It will show:

But we could do even more. In this case, the table "city" is related to the table "country".

Edit the line where you list the repo as follows:

$cities=CityRepo::recursive(['/_country_id'])->toList();

The function recursive will try to load this field. How do you know the name of the field? Every field indicated here starts with "/". If you look at the code of CityRepo, it will show every field:

It says that "_*country_*id" is a many-to-one relational field. Also "__address" is another relational field (one-to-many)

You can fetch both tables as follow:

$cities=CityRepo::recursive(['/_country_id','/_address'])->toList();

ORM or not.

ORM could make our life easiest but it could have some hidden costs.

• many-to-one relations are "join" in disguise.

• "one-to-many" relations are multiple queries.

• ORM also loads every row and sometimes the internal queries could be long

select address.address_id as `/address_id`,address.address as `/address`,address.address2 as `/address2`,address.district as `/district`,address.city_id as `/city_id`,address.postal_code as `/postal_code`,address.phone as `/phone`,address.last_update as `/last_update` from address where address.`city_id` ='599'

If we want performance or we simply want to show a table, then we could use a native query:

$cities=CityRepo::query('select * from city inner join country on city.country_id=country.country_id');

It will return the next fields:

While the result is similar to the ORM but the structure is different.

Other examples

// inserting
$newCity=['city' => 'new city','country_id' => 105];
CityRepo::insert($newCity);
// updating
$newCity['city']='name changed';
CityRepo::update($newCity);
// deleting
CityRepo::delete($newCity);
// delete by id
CityRepo::deleteById(100);

There are more than +100 features available to use but they are the basic ones.

Costs

Why not a framework?

• This library consists of 11 files

• The complete dependency of this library is 28 files.

• The example consists of 37 files.

So, the whole project example is less than 100 files. It doesn't all the job as a framework but it is a start.

In comparison, PHPUnit alone has +500 files and a project in Laravel is over +6000 files.

The more files, the slow to deploy, it uses more space, and PHP must deal with more files in the memory (OpCache must retain a catalog with every file). Even "Composer autoload" must have a huge file with all the files.

Also, since it is a simple project, you could even deploy without using Composer, however, you must include the files on your own.

Plus, you can even use it inside a framework.

Why or why not an ORM?

Sometimes we want both cases. For example, for the frontend, we could use native operations because they are fast and we don't need the whole structure of the ORM, and for the backend, we could use the ORM because it is easy to work with it.

So about ORM, the answer depends, and usually, the solution is both.

Installing postfix

Postfix is our tool that does the heavy-lifting. It will also install other services. What postfix does in the background is overly complex but we will only touch the surface of it.

apt install postfix

It will show the next screens:

1. Internet sites:

1. select your domain. If you want a domain called john@domain.dom, then pick:

1. The postmaster (you can pick whatever you want to)

1. And you can pick other domains

1. Force sync? No

1. Relay IP. Does not change it.

• Mailbox size, you can set the file that you want to or zero for unlimited.

• Delimiter. Set this values as default

• Internet protocol. Usually "all" works but if you have troubles, then change it for "IPV4"

And reload the service

systemctl reload postfix

You can re-configure the system using the next command (or you could edit the configuration file manually)

sudo dpkg-reconfigure postfix

Editing Postfix

Indicates the mail folder:

postconf -e 'home_mailbox= Maildir/'

And restart postfix.

sudo systemctl restart postfix

In the folder /etc/postfix, you could find many files. There are two important files, one is main.cnf and master.cnf.

Firewall

You must allow the services to pass the firewall.

sudo ufw allow Postfix

If you want to receive emails, then you must open the port TCP/IP 25 from your firewall.

Note: If you are using AWS, then you must ask permission to Amazon (and open the firewall), otherwise it will not work. And as far as I know, Azure put the same restrictions. Many cloud providers could put their own restrictions, some simply deny the use of the port 25.

Most home connections block the port 25.

How to test if the port is open?

In a different machine, runs the next command:

telnet <external-ip> 25

If you are using Windows, then you can use Putty (a free program) and try to do telnet using port 25.

Create the mail folders

Log in with the user and run the next command

mkdir ~/Maildir
mkdir -p ~/Maildir/{cur,new,tmp}
chown -R USERNAME:USERNAME ~Maildir

Where username is your username

Installing a client

To install a client compatible with postfix, you can use Mutt.

yum install mutt

There are many clients but it is easy and minimalist.

The other popular client is s-nail but it is less intuitive.

Sends an email using mutt

Note: You must configure the DNS before you want to send email. It could work locally but it is better to test it with the DNS up and running.

Open mutt

mutt

And select "m" (mail)

Fill in the information in the email. And finally, send it "y"

Sends an email using the cli

You can send an email using the next command.

echo "body" | mail -s "title" <your email>
Configuring the DNS

How do you know that it is working?

You can check the log at:

cat /var/log/mail.log

DNS

Finally, you will need to configure your DNS.

Go to the DNS configuration and enter the next information:

Change <domain> by your domain and <your IP> for the private IP of the server.

Note: Gmail did some changes to the SPF entries. It does not accept includes or domain names, only IPs.

Windows writes those log files in the next folder:

%SystemRoot%\System32\Winevt\Logs

Most of those files weigh 1KB, so it does not affect and impact the performance of the hard disk. Windows simply writes a part of the code. However, we are not using a hard disk anymore but SSD.

When we use a hard disk, then the Log Event does the next job:

• It reads the file.

• And it adds the next log registry in the last disk block of the log file

• If the block is full, then it creates a new block.

When we use an SSD, the Log Event does the next job:

• It reads the file

• And it modifies the last disk block. SSD has its own blocks that are also modified. Every modification wears out the block. The SSD drive could also trim the block by moving to another part of the disk and wearing the SSD but avoiding wearing the same block many times.

• If the block is full, then it creates a new block. If the SSD block is also full, then it creates a new block.

Size

Now, let's say the size of the log is 1kb. That is the logical size, not the physical size. The partition system works in blocks of 4kb, so every time we write a file less or equal to 4k, we use 4kb. I.e. our log is 4kb or more.
You can check the size using PowerShell

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_Volume | Select-Object Label, BlockSize | Format-Table -AutoSize

But the SSD has its own blocks. The common size is 512KB. So, if our log is 1k, then we are impacting the whole 512KB SSD block.

Even if the log does not change in size, then every modification will still impact this 512KB block.

Event Log

Windows uses over 300 event log files. However, not all logs are written every day. However, at least 80 logs are written every day.

So, in the worse case, we are writing 80 SSD blocks every day, and sometimes it is hitting it constantly. The event log is an SSD killer, no matter if you are using it or not the computer, it is constantly writing files in the log files.

But What I can do?

It is not possible to disable the service of the event log. However, we could limit its usage.

If you open the Event Viewer, then you will see that there are 5 log files. In fact, there are many more hidden in Application and Services Log.

The main log files can't be disabled but we can limit it

If you go to the property, then we could limit its size. The size makes sense for a conventional hard disk but not for an SSD. So, we don't want to limit the size but to limit any writing. So, we should use the option "Do not overwrite event". This does the next job: if the log file is filled, then it stops writing.

Another alternative is to send the log to "nul" file. I have not tested it but in theory, it should work.

Now, if you open Application And Services Log -> Microsoft, you will see that there are MANY log files used by different programs and services. We could disable each file separately but it will take a lot of time.

EventLogChannelsVIew is a free program and it works to disable the rest of the logs.

This program is unable to disable all logs but it works with most of them.

• Select all the channels enabled.

• Right button -> Disable. It could show many "error 87" but it will work with most channels.

Security

But, is it safe to disable the event log? The event log gives security if anybody reads and analyzes the log.

Question: How many times have you read the log files?

If you work in a managed infrastructure (Domain), then the system administrator will read the file. However, in this case, the sysadmin will not allow you to edit the event log.

Let's say you usually don't read the log file but you have some trouble with a program or service and you need to read the log file. It is not a problem. In case you need to read the log, then you can enable it back.

End note:

It works with a simple exception: Security.evtx

I tried to limit the writing in security.evtx (Security)

• Limiting the size: No, it doesn't work

• Changing the file: Not, it doesn't work.

• Disabling it: Unable to disable it.

While the security log hasn't added a new entry, the file somehow has been edited. I think Microsoft is doing something "undocumented" again.

The best keyboard for a programmer is where the programmer could code for an entire day without feeling tired and commit fewer mistakes.

Type of keyboards

Mechanical keyboard

• Mechanical. And it is divided into different subcategories depending on the kind of keyboard, such as blue, yellow, etc.

• 

So, what is the difference? There are many, including the quality, but in short, it is separate in the weight of the keys and the noise. And is when mechanical keyboards are not fit for programming, they are heavy and noisy. There are some keys that are less heavy and noisy but they are still consistently noisy in comparison with the other kind of keyboards.

As I mentioned, there are different kinds of keys, such as yellow, brown, etc. Some of them are more silent however, they consistently more noise than membranes or scissors, i.e. they are silent in comparison with other mechanical keyboards, not other types of keyboards.

Also, they are aimed at gamers, so they are focused on lights, macros, and other features that a non-gamer will not enjoy it. Several of them have fewer keys so they use less space. It is ok for gamers but bad for coders. You don't want a short keyboard.

It is amazing how some coders recommend this kind of keyboard. They are noisy and heavy and even the best type of mechanical keys are not for hours of coding.

Membrane keyboard

Membrane keyboards are lightweight and consistently less noisy. Also, they are cheaper. However, it brings some problems:

• Since they are lightweight, then it is easy to commit mistakes because (and it depends on the kind of membrane), they are too lightweight and there is little feedback.

• Some people say the feedback feels mushy but it depends on the kind of membrane.

• Other membranes are too lightweight and they register every touch like this one:

Also, membrane keyboards have another problem, they are cheap, so the market is for cheap keyboards, i.e. disposables. It is hard to find a premium membrane keyboard, and when you find one, they are absurdly expensive.

Optical keyboards

There is a new variety of mechanical keyboards: optical. In short, they are mostly a "gimmick", they are far more durable than a mechanical keyboard but they are noisier and they are similarly heavy. They are also more expensive than a mechanical keyboards. They are not for coders unless the coder prefers duration over anything else.

Scissors

Scissor keyboards are a mix between a membrane keyboard and some light profile mechanical keyboards. They are mostly used in notebooks. They are less noisy, and lightweight but it has feedback.

Apple calls it "butterfly" but it is the same technology with a small change. However, the duration could be bad, and they are reserved commonly for notebooks. Currently, they are the best keyboard for coding. However, they are not as popular for desktops and only a few companies make them.

And another one: Mechanical Keyboard low profile

There is a new set of mechanical keyboards called low-profile. They are less noisy and more lightweight than their other counterpart. However, they are still "experimental" so you only find a couple of companies doing it. They are expensive.

In resume

• Scissors if you don't mind duration. It has feedback and they are silent and lightweight.

• Mechanical keyboards "low-profile", they are the future but I hope the big companies will start adopting it.

• Membrane keyboards are cheap and easy to find however it is hard to find a premium model.

• Mechanical keyboards, they are expensive, heavy, and noisy but they have feedback and are long-lasting

• Optical keyboards, they are even more expensive and noisy but they are long-lasting and they have a feedback

What is Code First anyways?

When we want to use an ORM (Object Relational Model) in our code, we have the next options:

• Create the database, then create the code and make it both work in synchronization. It is really prone to mistakes, for example, the code could understand that the "id" field is an int, and the database understands that the column "id" is an integer, but depending on the engine, it could not be completely exact and maybe the field "id" must be a long.

• Create the database, then self-generate the code that matches the database. It is called "Database First".

• Create the code, then it will create the database. It is called "Code First".

When we create code first, then the code is in charge to determine how the database will be created and populated.

For example, let's assume the next pseudo-code:

{
   "table":"Customers"
    ,"fields":[
         "id":"int"
         ,"name":"string"
         ]
}

This code will assume that we need to create a table called customer with two fields.

So, we run the generation of the database, and it will build the database, i.e. We are reinventing the wheel!!.

Now, let's say that the table is more complex.

A table could contain the next "components"

• the definition of the table

  • and it could contain a lot of stuff, from the tablespace, the type of database, etc.

• fields

  • And depending on the field, it could contain, validations, default value, auto-generate value, and several other definitions.

• indexes

• keys

• etc.

Some ORM allows a fine-grained definition of the database but it still could miss a lot of definitions (because the ORM is a generation of many databases, or it is compatible with some older version, etc.). But even if we could generate our definition in code, the task could be in some cases overwhelming. Most code-first code simply left the basic definition.

So, what is the alternative?

Database-First

Why? Simple, because most databases are harden-tested to do exactly that task. Do you want a GUI? well, there are many tools that do that.

Do you want to code, then SQL is decades old (and SQL is "standard").

CREATE TABLE `malibu`.`Customers` (
  `id` INT NOT NULL,
  `Name` VARCHAR(45) NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (`id`));

There are some problems with Database-First but they have a solution

• Updating the database. If we change the database, then our code will need to be recreated. It is not a big deal since most of the code that we need to update is generated automatically.

• Code-first gives more control to the developer. That is true and false. True because it allows more customization on the side of the code. But false because the database does not change and finally the database is who does the job.

Let's say our database has a foreign key between two tables.

The database understands the concept of foreign keys, and "one to many" and "many to one" relations. But in code, we could understand more concepts such as "one to one", "many to many" and others.

However, the problem is not because database but the lack of some tools that convert the database into code and it doesn't allow configuring it manually.

So, the best of all worlds is Database-First AND a proper tool that does not simply take the database and creates the code but also allows some kind of customization.

I there, I use Cloudflare for some of my servers. I tried using the cache system but while it works, it also adds more time to the load of the page (TTFB *) so it didn’t work for me at least on most websites. But, I still use the DNS service which is available to use without cache. So I use it mainly for the DNS and only a few pages use the cache. Nothing wrong here.

(\) CloudFlare says that the TTFB delay is not a big issue. I think the opposite.*

However, recently I found the next problems:

• Cloudflare affects somehow the content of some pages even when you are not caching it. How, and why? I don’t know but Google Bots shows me some nonexistent links that were generated by CloudFlare.

• And now, somebody is using the IP of Cloudflare to probe one of my servers.

• The IP is owned by CloudFlare https://www.cloudflare.com/ips-v4

• And my website does not use WordPress in any way and there is no file (or folded) with such a name. Also, there is no content or link to that file. I double-checked that.

So, what is going on with CloudFlare?

I don’t think CloudFlare is trying to hack my server and maybe somebody is using CloudFlare as some kind of proxy. But, since I don’t really know what is going on, then that IP of CloudFlare was banned from my system.

In any case, I think it is time to move out of CloudFlare.

Update: List of IPS banned so far.

More articles will come next.

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