devReview()

If you are using version control in your development, your team or self is most likely wanting to use an issue or bug tracker for your development. There are alternatives to a dedicated product like whiteboards, spreadsheets, email folders or a super memory. However for this article we will compare dedicated issue trackers, and to be more specific, 5 PHP based trackers that are released as free and open source software. All evaluation was done using PHP5.2.6 on Apache 2.2.9, MySQL 5.0.67.

Read more '5 Free Software PHP Issue Trackers'.

Are you a web developer working either solo, or in small team? Are you using version or source control of your code? If not, please stop, save your work and read this before continuing.

Read more 'Version control for solo developers'.

Every developer is different, and most believe that their way is THE way. Some have a Computer Science degree, some learnt on the job. Some have 20 years experience across multiple languages, while someone is on their first day with PHP as their first language. There are so many differences, but 1 commonality: shared code. Unless you run your own company, and will never have anyone edit your code, you need a standard so that all these different programmers with their diverse backgrounds are working in a common way.

Read more 'Your team must have a coding standard'.

The recent crisis in financial markets has spread into the real world with the real world consequence of job losses and lay-offs. Workers in software development have not been immune from this problem. This is especially true for those whose work relates to financial markets where some very large firms have announced large workforce cuts. If seemingly unrelated to your job performance you have been laid off or the dagger sits over you and your co-workers, here are some hints and tips in no particular order that may help.

Read more 'Help! The financial crisis stole my job'.

Small organisations and businesses often lack the size and expertise to develop software to satisfy their needs. They are left to purchase proprietary software with supplier lock in, and pay the single supplier for customisation (if available) as they have no rights to do it. FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) provides an alternative with ready developed software that by its licensing is not tied to a single supplier or restricted in modification rights.

Read more 'Free and open source software is good for a small business'.