PHP 8 Mastery — Modern PHP for Production
A practical guide to writing type-safe, tested, and production-hardened PHP 8.x applications — from first install on macOS through deployment.
PHP Versions Covered: 8.0 → 8.3 Running Project: AuthFlow — a multi-tenant REST API built step by step across chapters Audience: Backend engineers, Laravel/Symfony developers, PHP professionals
What You Will Learn
- Install and manage multiple PHP versions on macOS using Homebrew
- Master every major PHP 8.0–8.3 language feature with real examples
- Write strict, type-safe code using
declare(strict_types=1), union types, enums, and readonly classes - Apply PSR standards (PSR-1, PSR-4, PSR-7, PSR-12) in everyday development
- Catch bugs before runtime with PHPStan (level 9) and Psalm
- Write expressive tests with PHPUnit 11 and Pest v3
- Build modern PHP patterns: DTOs, Value Objects, Result types, Domain Events
- Tune PHP-FPM + OPcache for maximum production throughput
- Harden PHP applications for security and observability
Table of Contents
Chapter 01 — Environment Setup on macOS
- 01 — Installing PHP 8.x on macOS with Homebrew
- 02 — Switching PHP Versions: php@8.1, @8.2, @8.3
- 03 — CLI Toolchain: Composer, Laravel Pint, PHPStan, Rector
Chapter 02 — PHP 8.0 Core New Features
- 01 — JIT Compiler: Tracing vs Function Mode
- 02 — Named Arguments, Match Expressions, Nullsafe Operator
- 03 — Union Types, Mixed, Never Return Type
Chapter 03 — PHP 8.1 Features
- 01 — Enums: Pure, Backed, Methods, Interfaces
- 02 — Readonly Properties and Intersection Types
- 03 — Fibers: Cooperative Concurrency
Chapter 04 — PHP 8.2 and 8.3 Features
- 01 — Readonly Classes and DNF Types
- 02 — First-Class Callable Syntax
- 03 — Typed Class Constants, #[Override], New in Initializers
Chapter 05 — Strict Types and Type Safety
- 01 — declare(strict_types=1): Scope, Rules, Pitfalls
- 02 — Type Coercion vs Strict Comparison in Practice
- 03 — Generic-Style Patterns with @template and PHPDoc
Chapter 06 — PSR Standards in Practice
- 01 — PSR-1, PSR-4, PSR-12: Coding Style and Autoloading
- 02 — PSR-7 and PSR-15: HTTP Messages and Middleware
- 03 — PSR-11: Container Interface and Dependency Injection
Chapter 07 — Static Analysis
- 01 — PHPStan: Levels, Baseline, Custom Rules
- 02 — Psalm: Type Templates, Assertions, Taint Analysis
- 03 — Rector: Automated Upgrades and Refactoring
Chapter 08 — Testing
- 01 — PHPUnit 11: Attributes, Data Providers, Coverage
- 02 — Pest v3: Expressive Testing with describe/it
- 03 — Mocking, Fakes, Spies, Integration Strategies
Chapter 09 — Modern PHP Design Patterns
- 01 — DTOs and Value Objects: Immutability and Validation
- 02 — Domain Events, Command Bus, Action Pattern
- 03 — Result Types and Exception-Free Error Handling
Chapter 10 — Composer and Dependency Management
- 01 — composer.json, composer.lock, Semantic Versioning
- 02 — Custom Packages, Satis, Private Packagist
- 03 — Autoloading Optimization for Production
Chapter 11 — PHP-FPM and OPcache Tuning
- 01 — PHP-FPM Pool Config: pm Modes and Workers
- 02 — OPcache: Memory, Timestamps, JIT Buffer
- 03 — Preloading, realpath_cache, Production Checklist
Chapter 12 — Production Hardening and Observability
- 01 — Security Hardening: open_basedir, disable_functions
- 02 — Error Handling: Structured Logging with Sentry
- 03 — Performance Profiling: Blackfire, XHProf, Tideways
Prerequisites
- Basic familiarity with PHP syntax
- A Mac running macOS Ventura or newer
- Terminal / command line comfort
Tools Used
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Homebrew | Package manager for macOS |
| shivammathur/php tap | Multi-version PHP on macOS |
| Composer | Dependency management |
| Laravel Pint | Code style fixer (PSR-12) |
| PHPStan | Static analysis |
| Psalm | Type-level static analysis |
| Rector | Automated code upgrades |
| Pest v3 | Testing framework |
| PHPUnit 11 | Testing foundation |
| Blackfire.io | Performance profiling |