Notebook / Archives / "PHP"

NuSphere Tech Platform 3.4 for Windows (download page here for the Windows version, but there is also a Linux version).

It comes with:

• Apache 1.3.31 web server;
• PHP 4.3.7 scripting language;
• PHP Debugger v2.16.9.
• ... and a lot more!

For my new web project (whose temporary name is SmartyPot) I plan to use a strict way of coding in PHP. That is to say: unit testing, logging, debugging and profiling.

For unit testing, we can rely on two packages:

• PHPUnit from the PEAR repository, a regression testing framework for unit tests;
• the old PhpUnit (last released 20020327), which claims to be based on the JUnit framework for Java.

But you can also choose the really impressive Simple Test PHP Unit Test Framework, which is able to use the aforementioned unit testing packages. This framework does not only offer to build unit test cases, but also web test cases and it can create mock objects.

For logging, we have Log4php, a port of log4j, the most popular Java logging framework, both project being part of the Logging Services Project at Apache.

For documentation, two alternatives:

• the old PHPDoc, adaptation of Javadoc to the PHP world (latest release from 20001203);
• the newer PhpDocumentor.

For debugging and profiling:

• DBG, the one I use at the moment (integrated in PHPEdit);
• apd from the PECL repository;
• the Xdebug extension for PHP;
• ab - Apache HTTP server benchmarking tool.

This collection of links is brought to you in order to rediscover with me the fabulous world of regular expressions. I am currently using a lot of regexp in the typographic engine I am building. Books by O'Reilly:

• Mastering Regular Expressions, Second Edition by Jeffrey E. F. Friedl (official website here): the bible, which I own [buy by Amazon.com];
• Regular Expressions Pocket Reference by Tony Stubblebine: the quick reference [buy by Amazon.com].

On Perldoc.com, a huge site with Perl documentation:

• references: perlre - Perl regular expressions (the main reference for Perl Regular Expressions) and perlreref - Perl Regular Expressions Reference (a concise reference on Perl RE);
• tutorials: perlrequick - Perl regular expressions quick start (a quick start guide for Perl RE) and perlretut - Perl regular expressions tutorial (a long tutorial);
• FAQ: perlfaq6 - Regular Expressions;
• others: Regexp Quote-Like Operators (about quote-like operators that apply to pattern matching and related activities) and Gory details of parsing quoted constructs (dealing with quoted constructs in Perl).

Websites:

• Regular-Expressions.info: a very complete website.
• RegExLib.com – Regular Expression Library is a repository of expressions for particular tasks (actually this library is used by many RE tester tools, and RegExLib.com offers its own online RE test tools). Have a look at the excellent collection of RE patterns.

Regular Expressions testing tools:

• The Regulator (.NET) – the best I have tested;
• Espresso (.NET), introducing article on CodeProject (but talking about the previous version) – not tested yet;
• JRegexpTester (Java) – interesting but not the best;
• The Regex Coach (Windows and Linux) – tested but not so good;
• RegexDesigner.NET (.NET), GotDotNet workspace here – not tested;
• Regular Expression Workbench (.NET) – not tested.

Java packages (excepts from regex.info's Links to Java Regex Packages):

• Sun java.util.regex (used on the same project as Jakarta Regexp, but Sun implementation was limited);
• Jakarta Apache ORO (only used once);
• Jakarta Apache Regexp (the one I currently use);
• XML Apache Xerces org.apache.xerces.utils.regex (never used) – IBM com.ibm.regex aka Regex4J is not available anymore;
• JRegex (never used but seems to be worth it);
• gnu.regexp (used once on the same project as Jakarta Regexp, but there was a problem with this GNU package that I have not met in the Jakarta one);
• com.stevesoft.pat (never used).

PHP can use Perl Compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE).

More: the e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t article Marshall McLuhan vs. Marshalling Regular Expressions by Andy Oram.

“Regular expressions extend the reach of text, and therefore inexorably change how we sense the text.”