This document outlines key updates and releases in the PHP ecosystem during June to mid-July 2017, including patch releases for various PHP versions and updates for popular CMS platforms such as Drupal and WordPress. It highlights new features in frameworks like Symfony and Laravel, as well as upcoming PHP conferences. Additionally, it announces events and activities planned for the Kansas City PHP User Group in August and promotes contribution opportunities to open-source documentation.

1. Last Month in PHP
June - MidJuly 2017
Kansas City PHP User Group
PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID YARROW

2. PHP Patch Releases - Upgrade!
PHP 5.6.31
● Security fixes
● php.net/ChangeLog-5.php#5.6.31
PHP 7.0.20 & 7.0.21
● Security & Bug fixes
● php.net/ChangeLog-7.php#7.0.21
PHP 7.1.6 & 7.1.7
● Security & Bug fixes
● php.net/ChangeLog-7.php#7.1.7
PHP 7.2 Alpha
● Alpha 1-3 released
● 7.2-beta1 will be feature-freeze

3. Upcoming Features in PHP RFC
Object type hint & return type
● Target: 7.2
● tl;dr: “object” can be used as a type hint
or return type for any kind of object.
● Note: “object” can no longer be used as a
class name.
● wiki.php.net/rfc/object-typehint
Return type
class WidgetFactory {
function create() : object {
return new Widget();
}
}
Type hint
interface Extraction {
// Extract values from an object
public function extract(object $object) : array;
}

4. CMSes: Drupal
Drupal 7.5 & 8.3 - Upgrade!
● Security Release
● CVE-2017-6920
● CVE-2017-6921
● CVE-2017-6922
● drupal.org/SA-CORE-2017-003

5. CMSes: WordPress
WordPress 4.8 - “Evans”
● Link boundaries
● New media widgets for images, audio, & video
● Updated text widget
● wordpress.org/news/2017/06/evans/
● make.wordpress.org/core/2017/05/26/wordpress-4-8-field-guide/

6. Frameworks - CakePHP
CakePHP 3.4.[8, 9, 10]
● Bugfixes & new features: 3.4.8, 3.4.9, & 3.4.10
○ bakery.cakephp.org/2017/06/19/cakephp_348_released.html
○ bakery.cakephp.org/2017/06/25/cakephp_349_released.html
○ bakery.cakephp.org/2017/07/09/cakephp_3410_released.html

7. Frameworks - Laravel
Laravel 5.4.[25, 26, 27, 28]
● Laravel 5.4
○ Maintenance releases
○ Interesting addition to Collections
■ unless() -- inverse of when()
○ github.com/laravel/framework/blob/5.4/CHANGELOG-5.4.md

8. Frameworks - Symfony
Symfony 3.3
Huge release with lot’s o’ new features
● symfony/flex ← this would make a great talk!
● dotenv (see: “config” chapter of the Twelve-Factor App)
● DI Service Container improvements (autowiring, auto-config, etc)
● More!
● symfony.com/blog/symfony-3-3-0-curated-new-features
● symfony.com/blog/symfony-3-3-0-released

9. Frameworks - Symfony
Symfony 3.3.[1 - 4], 3.2.[10, 11], 2.8.[22 - 24], 2.7.[29 - 31]
● Maintenance Releases
● symfony.com/blog/category/releases

10. Frameworks - Zend
Zend Framework 3
● Will start to support PHP 7.1+
● New major versions of components to support PHP 7
○ Will drop support for HHVM
● Existing versions of components will continue to support PHP 5.6 until Dec
2018, when all official support for PHP 5.6 ends
● framework.zend.com/blog/2017-06-06-zf-php-7-1.html

11. PHP: The Right Way
● Errors & Exceptions
○ Added reference to “Whoops!”, a tool to
help analyse exceptions
○ filp.github.io/whoops/demo/
○ phptherightway.com/#errorexception
● People to Follow
○ Added OGProgrammer’s list of current
leaders in PHP
○ phptherightway.com/#people_to_follow
● Note: Every open-source project can use
your help with documentation. What are
you waiting for?

12. PHP Conferences
CoderCruise 2017
● July 16 - 23 - New Orleans, LA
● Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, & Cozumel.
● Polyglot
● The conference will take place during the
3 days spent at sea, while attendees will
be free to explore the ports when docked.
● codercruise.com
Django Girls KC
● July 21-22 - Kansas City, MO
● djangogirls.org/kansascity
Laracon 2017
● July 25-26 - New York, NY
● laracon.us

13. PHP Conferences
Kansas City Developer Conference
● Aug 3-4 - Kansas City, MO
● kcdc.info
NE PHP/UX Conference
● Aug 9-11 - Prince Edward Island, CAN
● 2017.northeastphp.org
Pacific Northwest PHP
● Sept 7-9 - Seattle, WA
● pnwphp.com
Strange Loop 2017
● Sept 28-30 - St. Louis, MO
● thestrangeloop.com

14. Nomad PHP (Online) - July 20
Nomad PHP EU - 01:00 PM CDT
Atlas ORM: Doing the Heavy Lifting For Your
Persistence Layer
● Paul M. Jones (@pmjones)
● nomadphp.com/nomadphp-2017-07-eu
Nomad PHP US - 08:00 PM CDT
What I Learned About Testing While Walking
Uphill Both Ways In The Snow
● Chris Hartjes (@grmpyprogrammer)
● nomadphp.com/nomadphp-2017-07-us

15. Next Month in KCPHPUG
August 2017
● Call for papers!
● TDD hack night?
September 2017
● PHP Test Fest Month!
● Improve code-coverage of PHP core
● Provide PRs to PHP Core without knowing
C
● phptestfest.org