Web Dev with Matt

If you've used the shell, terminal, or command-line all that much, you'll know that it's powerful and extremely flexible. However, you'll also know that that power and flexibility comes with a cost. Commands can be hard to remember, have options and parameters that become complicated to type consistently, without overlooking options or typing them incorrectly. That's why you need to learn about sh...

If you've written technical documentation, you'll know about Markdown. It's easy to get started with. It's easy to write. It's supported by just about any and every platform and service you're going to use, e.g., GitHub, GitLab, StackOverflow, Reddit, LinkedIn, and numerous other services. Despite that, it's not the best choice for technical documentation! However, there are two formats: AsciiDoc...

You might think that Git GUIs are more efficient for using Git than the command line. I disagree. In this episode, I'm going to share with you six options that I regularly use with Git Log that make the command-line way faster. Links from the episode Git Log Glob expressions The less command Grep cheatsheet The tutorial behind the episode Want to grow your knowledge further? Check out the books be...

Git Reflog shows you a lot about what's going on in your Git repositories, and let's you clean them up better than other commands can. For this reason, and because I have been known to accidentally include things in commits that I need to purge, I'm coming to love this command. So, in this episode I'm going to give you a good introduction to the command, and step you through how I completely remov...

One of the tasks that I took on at work, recently, required updating the details of an existing code project. The project originally showed how to send SMS in each of the seven languages mentioned, except Rust.  Now, however, it needed to show how to reply to an SMS as well. I've worked with each of the language over the years, except for C#, so thought that it would be a fun challenge to brush up...

As I started talking about in the last episode, this year I'll be focusing primarily on accessibility , testing , and deployment . In this episode, I thought it important to set out why in a decent amount of depth. So, why? Well, essentially, because they're of interest to me, because having a more narrow rather than broad focus makes life easier to focus and learn, and because they're areas that...

Welcome, if a little late, to 2026! In this (quite short) episode, I set out the broad direction for the podcast for the coming year so that you know what to expect. In short, while not a lot has changed, some things have! While I'm still talking about web application development, this year, I'll be focusing on three areas: accessibility, testing, and deployment. Does that sound like something for...

Today, I'm stepping beyond the nine essential Git commands you need to know that I covered in the previous episode by talking about Git merge, rebase, and interactive rebasing. These are commands that you need to become comfortable with (well, maybe not interactive rebasing) if you want to use Git in any meaningful way. I hope that, after listening to this episode, you feel that interactive rebasi...

In this episode, I share with you the nine essential commands that you need to know to get started working with Git. It starts off with git init and git clone and finishes up with git fetch and git pull. Admittedly, this episode is targeted at users who are newer to Git. But, even if you're a more seasoned user, there might be something in this episode for you! Such as pointing out something that...

Do you prefer using Git on the command-line or with a GUI? That's what I'm keen to find out in this episode of the podcast. Why? Because I’m an avid Git command-line user, and have been for over 10 years! But, recently, I’ve been experimenting with some of the GUI tools available for Git to see if if I’m missing out on anything, and how the experience differs from the command line. In this episode...

If you love using data providers in PHPUnit, but find defining them verbose (and potentially buggy), then you’ll love the attribute-based approach in PHPUnit. In this episode, I'm stepping through what they are and why they're a great thing. Links from the episode PHPUnit's DataProvider Annotation PHPUnit's TestWith Attribute PHP 8 Attributes The post which this episode was based on: Write Simpler...

Recently, Laravel took a $57M Series A investment from Accel. What might this mean for the future of Laravel – for the future of PHP more generally? I don't have a crystal ball, but thought that I'd share some thoughts, now that it's been a few weeks since the announcement was made. Links from the episode The announcement from Laravel Special Announcement - Accel invests $57M into Laravel Products...

When using curl, how do you set the value of one or more of the POST variable’s from the contents of a file? For the longest time, I didn’t know. But recently I found out. In this post, I’ll step you through several ways you can do it. Links from the episode The curl manpage curl RFC 2388 multipart/form-data STDIN The post which this episode was based on: How to Set a Post Variable from a File Whe...

Docker is an excellent way of deploying software. But, how do you know if your build configurations (your Dockerfiles) are valid without building them? In this episode of the podcast, let me step you through how to do so. Links from the episode The Docker Build --check option Docker Build's Build Checks Want to grow your knowledge further? Check out the books below, where you can grow your web dev...

Composer is an amazing tool that makes working with PHP so much simpler than it ever was before! In this short(-ish) episode, I want to introduce you to Composer's show command, and how it helps you find out about all of the dependencies on which your project depends. Links from the episode Composer's show command The Linux/UNIX ps command Want to grow your knowledge further? Check out the books b...

In this episode, I'm discussing a recent post that I wrote on my blog about what it's like to learn Java as a PHP developer. If you're, primarily a PHP developer and have considered or spent time learning Java (or brushing back up on Java) then you might well relate to some or all of my recent experiences doing so. Links from the episode Learning Java as a PHP Developer post IntelliJ IDEA Communit...

It's early days, so I don't know how detailed the project will end up being, yet. But, I wanted to share what I'm thinking with you, in this week's episode of the podcast. So, here's my overview of what I'm planning to do. Links from the episode The introductory LinkedIn post , with the first mockup pencil sketch Want to grow your knowledge further? Check out the books below, where you can grow yo...

In this episode, I'm talking with my friend Shelley Benhoff about Docker and Docker Compose, being a Docker Captain, and Kubernetes. It's a fun, warm episode, recorded some time back, where we talk about all of those topics, plus a look back on tech life, post-pandemic, work ethics in different countries, and more. Guest(s): Shelley Benhoff . Links from the episode Shelley's book: The Lead Develop...

If you're not aware, on May 6th, StackOverflow and OpenAI announced a partnership where OpenAI will have access to StackOverflow's API. This will allow ChatGPT to be trained, with attribution, from StackOverflow's large corpus of data. If you're a StackOverflow user, are you okay with this? Do you feel comfortable knowing that your contributions, which may be uneditable and unremovable, will be us...

As software designers and developers, how often do we think about — or even put ourselves in the position of — the users whom we’re creating software for? How often have we had to use a poorly designed software, regardless of whether it was a native or web-based app or API? In this episode, I'm sharing my frustration with poorly designed apps and quirky user experience choices. In so doing, I want...

In this episode, unlike in previous ones, I have a guest on the show. I sit down with my friend Andrew Kew to talk about whether AI is a net positive or negative for us as developers, and for society more widely. It was such a solid discussion that I felt my position become a little more open-minded to AI having a positive impact. That said, it was heartening to remember that, when working with AI...

Building web apps in Go is extremely rewarding. No surprise there, right?! However, as Go’s a compiled language, to see changes, you need to recompile and restart them. Needless to say that’s quite tedious! With live reloading, it doesn’t need to be . In this episode, I'm talking about what live reloading is, what the benefits are, and how to get started using it in your Go projects with wgo. Link...

You can specify build arguments in Dockerfiles to set variables required at build time. However, when you're using Docker Compose and one (or more) of the services in the configuration builds based on a Dockerfile, how do you specify build arguments for it? In this episode, I step through how to specify them in Compose configuration files. Links from the episode Specifying build arguments with Doc...

In this episode, the first for season 2, I talk about my recent experience deploying a Go app, backed by a SQLite database to Fly.io. Warts and all.  Links from the episode Fly.io Persistable Volumes Fly.toml configuration The deployed application Want to grow your knowledge further? Check out the books and courses below, where you can grow your web development skills in a very focused, very hands...

In this episode, I step through a recent post that I wrote for the Twilio blog showing how to build a Markdown-based blog with the Slim Framework and PHP's Iterators - and really show the love for Slim Framework.  Why? Because I invested so much time in writing the code behind the tutorial, researching the various components that I used, writing, editing, and refining the post. It was a mission —...