Best Practice For The Sole Developer

BEST PRACTICES FOR THESOLE DEVELOPER

1Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003• SDPHP User Group Organizer

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003• SDPHP User Group Organizer• Sr PHP Developer for Networx Online

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003• SDPHP User Group Organizer• Sr PHP Developer for Networx Online•PhoneBurner.com

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003• SDPHP User Group Organizer• Sr PHP Developer for Networx Online•PhoneBurner.com•MeetingBurner.com

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003• SDPHP User Group Organizer• Sr PHP Developer for Networx Online•PhoneBurner.com•MeetingBurner.com• FaxBurner.com

2Friday, May 17, 13

JOHN CONGDON

•PHP Developer Since 2003• SDPHP User Group Organizer• Sr PHP Developer for Networx Online•PhoneBurner.com•MeetingBurner.com• FaxBurner.com•Over 8 Years Being a Sole Developer

2Friday, May 17, 13

TYPES OF SOLE DEVELOPERS

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• The “IT” Guy

•Works for a small company, but is the only developer

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• The Entrepreneur

•Works for him/herself on their own project

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• The Entrepreneur

•Works for him/herself on their own project

• The Remote Developer

•Works with others, but by themselves

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Don’t Do It *IT Guy

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HAVE A SET SCHEDULE *Remote, Entrepreneur

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http://www.scrollinondubs.com/2007/05/08/you-dont-know-what-you-dont-know/

Learn To Know What You Don’t Know *Everyone

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PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY

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National

Conferences

7Friday, May 17, 13


National

ConferencesRegional

Conferences

7Friday, May 17, 13


National

ConferencesRegional

Conferences

User Groups

7Friday, May 17, 13


National

Conferences

IRC

RegionalConferences

User Groups

7Friday, May 17, 13

CONFERENECS

• PHP|Tek (You’re here :)

• ZendCon

• CodeWorks

• SunshinePHP

• LoneStar PHP

•MidWest PHP

• SDPHP (Coming soon)

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Comment Your Code

9Friday, May 17, 13

Comment Your Code

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COMMENTS MUST BE USEFUL

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if ($a >= 21){ // if age is over 21 // beer is allow $b = true;}



if ($a >= 21){ // if age is over 21 // beer is allow $b = true;}

// The current legal age to drink// is 21 years old

if ($users_age >= 21){ $beer_allowed = true;}



Use a Coding Standard


A coding standard helps everyone on the team read code more easily.

if (DEBUG){ file_put_contents( $file_handle, $object->getErrorMessage() . PHP_EOL, FILE_APPEND );}


Issue Tracking


Issue Tracking


Many Options, Choose One And Use It

Issue Tracking


Many Options, Choose One And Use It

•Trello•Pivotal Tracker

•GitHub Issues•BitBucket Issues

•BugZilla•Mantis

Issue Tracking


PROJECT MANAGEMENT

• Breakdown your tasks

• Track progress

• Stay Focused

• Sense of accomplishment


STAY FOCUSED

• Track time

• Try the Pomodoro Technique

•Work 25 minutes, stand and stretch for 5 minutes

• Every 4th break, make it a little longer, 15-30 minutes

• Lather, rinse, and repeat


Version Control


How I Got Started With Version Control



• I used two directories on the same server (it’s a starting point)• I learned to use the Git-Flow workflow• http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/


http://nvie.com/posts/a-successful-git-branching-model/




Starting in my production codegit initgit add -A git commit -m “Initial import”







I then created a dev directorygit clone /path/to/production .

code, commit, and test here







I then created a dev directorygit clone /path/to/production .

code, commit, and test here

Time to deployGo to production directorygit remote add dev /path/to/developmentgit pull dev master




Unit Testing


BILLING AND INVOICING



• It’s easy to end up working for free :-(




•Don’t let it happen to you





• I recommend freshbooks.com






• Track invoices (especially outstanding ones)







• Accept payments







• Accept payments

• Track estimates / expenses / time


Continuous Integration


Contribute to Open Source


Hire a Consultant


Any Questions?


JOHN CONGDON

PLEASE RATE ON JOIND.IN

https://joind.in/8156




JOHN CONGDON• twitter : @johncongdon






JOHN CONGDON• twitter : @johncongdon • email: [email protected]






JOHN CONGDON• twitter : @johncongdon • email: [email protected]• irc: freednode.net (#sdphp)






THANK YOU!!!!


Best Practice For The Sole Developer

Technology

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remote developer works

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guy works

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entrepreneur works

starting point