PHP_CodeSniffer 0.9.0 (beta) released

I've just released PHP_CodeSniffer version 0.9.0. No bug fixes were included in this release, but a couple of great new features made it in.

I've talked about the new Zend coding standard (including the Zend Code Analyzer sniff) before but there is also a long awaited feature that made it in; config options. Config options allow PHP_CodeSniffer and its standards to use persistent settings across runs. The most useful of these is the ability to set the default coding standard that PHP_CodeSniffer uses.

You can view the full changelog, and download the release, on the package download page.

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

As part of his Web 2.0 talk at the Matrix User Conference, JP showed quite a clever video about how the web is changing. Even though the video has received close to 4 million views, I hadn't seen it before. If you haven't either, here it is:

Screen Reader Simulation

If you have ever wondered what it is like to use a screen reader, this screen reader simulation may help you understand how hard it can be to navigate a site without seeing the content. Yes, it is a simulation so it is not perfect, but it will give you an idea.

What did I learn? Among other things, vertical bars may look cool between menu links, but I wouldn't want them there if I was using a screen reader!

PHP_CodeSniffer and the Zend Code Analyzer

Ever since I first used the Zend Code Analyzer, I've wanted to put it into our code sniffers, but I've never got around to doing it. Now, thanks to a contribution from Holger Kral of Zend, and a new config system in PHP_CodeSniffer, you can include ZCA warnings in your coding standards.

I've just committed the CodeAnalyzer sniff into the Zend standard under a new Debug category. The sniff requires you to have ZCA installed on the same machine as PHP_CodeSniffer, and you need to tell PHP_CodeSniffer where to find it.

$ phpcs --config-set zend_ca_path /path/to/ZendCodeAnalyzer
$ phpcs --standard=zend /path/to/file

Zend Code Analyzer produces warnings for things like unused function arguments and unreachable code. Not all the warnings need to be fixed, but it can certainly find some common mistakes in your code.

MySource Matrix User Conference 2007

I've just returned from the first MySource Matrix International User Conference, held on the Gold Coast. I presented two talks at the conference, including the first public preview of MySource4. Being the first conference, nobody was really sure what to expect, but overall I really enjoyed the conference and got a lot out of it.

Obviously, I was mostly focused on the preview of MySource4, which went pretty well. I was a bit worried that we wouldn't have enough to show, but the focus on the inline content editing interfaces, including our new WYSIWYG editor (Viper), was pretty much all I could get into the 45 minute presentation anyway. With the preview past me, I'm really looking forward to digging back into the product and shifting focus onto some new interfaces, including configuration screens and design editing.

The conference had a few case studies from MySource Matrix users, which was a really great thing to see. It's been over 3 years since I first started work on Matrix (it must be close to 4 now) and I've been removed from end-users for most of that time. I only really deal with the specification phase, clients that are having problems or clients with large amounts of development. It was great, really great, to see people who have used Matrix to improve their business, and to talk to people who really love it. I particularly liked reflecting on the Tourism Tropical North Queensland project (presented by Angus Sprott) and seeing the Australian Sports Commission system (presented by Pat Birgan) that I've only ever read about in emails.

The presentations I was really looking forward to were "Website Accessibility - Can you buy your own can of beans?" from Bruce Aylward and particularly "Access to websites - how design makes all the difference" from Neil Jarvis. Watching Neil use a screen reader to navigate websites was an eye-opener. You can't understand the reasons why you strive for accessibility without seeing how it affects the user, and that goes for application developers as well. I had a chat with Bruce after the presentation and spoke about the ways in which a JavaScript-rich web application like MySource4 can be made accessible. It's certainly possible, providing the development team is committed to the goal and understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. I'm very confident that MySource4 will be an accessible web application; one of very few.

Congratulations to everyone involved with the conference and thanks to everyone who attended and made it a great couple of days.

Getting the Zend coding standard into PHP_CodeSniffer

With the help of some sniffs contributed by Johann-Peter Hartmann, I've started creating a Zend coding standard for PHP_CodeSniffer, a commonly requested addition to the tool. This new standard implements the Zend Framework coding standards document and is currently available in CVS.

The standard is not yet complete, but it is on the way. I'll continue adding more sniffs as I get time. If you use the Zend coding standard and want to contribute, let me know.

PHP_CodeSniffer 0.8.0 (beta) released

I released PHP_CodeSniffer version 0.8.0 beta a couple of days ago. I didn't realise it until I was putting together the changelog, but this is the first release that does not contain any bug fixes. There are plenty of new features, but the lack of bugs obviously indicates that I'm getting close to a stable release.

The most notable new features included in this release are the new XML report format, the command line argument to ignore files and folders and the inclusion of new sniffs to check code metrics, like cyclomatic complexity.

You can download the new release, and view the changelog, on the download page.