Escaping Dependency Hell

This month we’ve got a returning speaker in the person of Peter Fox, a Senior Software Engineer at Amiqus who came to Brighton last year to give a great talk about Feature Flags.

This time around Peter will show us a way out of Dependency Hell, using a combination of Composer, PHPStan and Rector to make sure we’re never stuck with out-of-date dependencies or PHP versions (details further down).

This event will be hybrid, meaning you can either join in person or online (please register for the meetup either way!):

The in-person event will take place at Runway East in Brighton from 6:30 pm. There will be food and drinks and you’re welcome to come have a chat before the talk starts (around 7 pm).

Online participants can join the live stream from 7 pm.

Here is how Peter introduces his talk:

“‘Escaping Dependency Hell’ is a talk focused on managing dependency upgrades in PHP web applications within complex enterprise environments. We’ll start by discussing strategic approaches to updates, emphasising the importance of planning and prioritising changes to ensure smooth transitions. Using Composer to its fullest potential is crucial here, so we’ll dive into its powerful ‘why-not’ and ‘depends’ commands to understand package dependencies better and make informed upgrade decisions.

Next, we’ll explore the process of forking dependencies and incorporating them into Composer, for the times when you’re stuck with deprecated packages. We’ll also look at applying fixes and testing them before committing to new versions, reducing the risk of introducing instability. I’ll demonstrate using PHPStan with extensions to block deprecated code and ensure your codebase isn’t slipping backwards. Additionally, I’ll share my experience with PHP Rector for performing large-scale refactors and how matrixes can aid in PHP version upgrades with minimal risk. Finally, we’ll wrap up with a discussion on the tools and strategies to keep your project from slipping back into dependency hell, ensuring long-term maintainability and stability.”

Big thanks to Silicon Brighton and Runway East for their support.

Runway East has been fighting boring offices since 2014. Members get team bliss guaranteed, space to scale and Big Desk Energy.