Review of PHP Architect March 2025

The March 2025 issue of php architect offers a rich blend of topics—from hands-on AI integration to classic SOLID principles, observability, and accessibility. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each article with takeaways, critique, and recommendations.

1️⃣ AI With PHP – Running Pre-Trained Models With TransformersPHP

Summary

This article introduces TransformersPHP, a PHP library that lets you run pre-trained AI models locally. From summarization and sentiment analysis to computer vision tasks and background removal, you can integrate AI into your PHP apps without needing external APIs.

Commentary

A very impressive and useful piece. The ability to call HuggingFace-compatible models via PHP is a game-changer—especially for those not working in Python environments. The pipeline() abstraction makes it incredibly simple.

Here’s a summarization example:

use function Codewithkyrian\Transformers\Pipelines\pipeline;

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

$summarizer = pipeline('summarization');
$text = 'Artificial Intelligence is a field of research...';
$summary = $summarizer($text);

And for sentiment analysis:

$analyzer = pipeline('sentiment-analysis');
$result = $analyzer('I love PHP!');
print_r($result);

Recommendation

🔍 Highly recommended for developers looking to add AI capabilities natively into their PHP projects.

2️⃣ Observability Foundations: How Metrics Help PHP Applications Thrive

Summary

Explores the importance of metrics as the foundation of observability. Provides a real-world case of detecting a MySQL deadlock issue using PHP-FPM and request metrics.

Commentary

A practical demonstration of why observability matters. Quote of the issue:

“Collecting data is inexpensive compared to the cost of not having it when needed.”

Every developer should understand the basics of metric instrumentation and how visibility enables faster diagnostics and incident response.

Recommendation

📈 Must-read for teams working on distributed PHP services.

3️⃣ Learning the Drill-Across Technique

Summary

Discusses how to build cross-source reports (e.g., sales + revenue) by combining data from different origins using data warehousing concepts. Emphasizes the limitations of normalized operational databases for reporting.

Commentary

While the piece is framed around the “Drill-Across” technique, the deeper value lies in the contrast between operational databases (e.g. in eCommerce apps) and data warehouses. The author implicitly reminds us:
🧠 Just because a database is normalized doesn’t mean it’s fast — especially for reporting.
This takeaway is crucial for devs who mix real-time and BI workloads on the same system.

The “Drill-Across” method joins facts from different data marts along shared dimensions. While the technical implementation leans heavily on data warehouse design, the result is clean, executive-friendly reports like this:

Recommendation

📊 Good for architects and data engineers; less relevant for everyday developers.

4️⃣ Communicating With Your New Hire

Summary

A deeply personal and practical article about communicating with new hires who have disabilities. The author shares the accessibility pitfalls of tools like Slack, Teams, and Google Docs.

Commentary

A much-needed perspective on inclusive collaboration. The key takeaway: Don’t assume one tool fits all—ask and adapt.

Recommendation

💬 Essential reading for team leads and HR professionals.

5️⃣ The Case for In-person Technical Conferences

Summary

A personal story about how attending Midwest PHP in 2018 changed a developer’s career. The author makes a passionate argument for real-life conference participation.

Commentary

Feels a bit like a sponsored interlude (hello php[tek]!), but the message resonates: You learn more, network deeper, and grow faster in person.

Recommendation

🎟️ Great motivator for those who haven’t attended a tech event yet.

6️⃣ Becoming a One-Person Band by Automating with GitHub Actions

Summary

A step-by-step tutorial on using GitHub Actions for CI/CD, linting, and automated quality control using tools like PHPMD.

Commentary

Practical and modern. Here’s an example of a GitHub Action for running PHPUnit:

name: Run Tests
on: pull_request

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      - name: Set up PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.2'
          tools: composer, phpunit
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: composer install --prefer-dist
      - name: Run tests
        run: phpunit

Recommendation

🤖 Must-read if you host on GitHub and want to boost your DevOps game.

7️⃣ From Scripting Language to Enterprise Solution

Summary

Continues the history of PHP, focusing on how the language evolved into a powerful tool for enterprise-scale applications.

Commentary

Key quotes highlight PHP’s maturity:

“PHP’s adaptability to modern web standards makes it an excellent choice for enterprise applications."
"Enterprise solutions must demonstrate exceptional scalability.”

It also references PHP’s role in modern APIs, JSON handling, and cloud-readiness.

Recommendation

🏢 Required reading for CTOs and architects evaluating PHP for modern enterprise needs.

8️⃣ A Voyage of Vulnerabilities

Summary

Analyzes real-world security issues and highlights a worst-case scenario: an unpatched XSS vulnerability leading to server compromise.

Commentary

A sobering reminder that security is not a feature—it’s a foundation. The insights here highlight how even minor oversights can lead to system-wide risks.

Recommendation

🔐 Don’t skip this if you ship PHP code to production.

9️⃣ Designing a Class

Summary

Chris Tankersley discusses class design in PHP through the lens of SOLID principles. Covers dependency injection styles and other design patterns.

Commentary

As I’ve said before, Tankersley’s advice should be part of every developer’s foundational education. He clearly breaks down concepts like constructor vs setter injection.

Constructor Injection:

class ReportService {
    public function __construct(private LoggerInterface $logger) {}
}

Setter Injection:

class ReportService {
    private LoggerInterface $logger;
    public function setLogger(LoggerInterface $logger) {
        $this->logger = $logger;
    }
}

Constructor is preferred for required dependencies.

Recommendation

📘 Every PHP developer should read this and revisit their OOP basics.

🔟 AI Is a Feature, Not a Product

Summary

Argues that AI should be seen as an enabler, not a standalone solution. Encourages devs to integrate AI as a supporting feature.

Commentary

Think about your IDE.

function isValidEmail(string $email): bool {
    return filter_var($email, FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL) !== false;
}

Your IDE likely suggests this without your help. AI as a co-pilot has been here for years. Let’s use it wisely.

Recommendation

🧠 Grounded advice for product managers, CTOs, and senior devs alike.

Final Thoughts

This issue of php architect stands out in its practicality and diversity. From AI to observability, class design to communication, it offers valuable takeaways for anyone building PHP applications today. Some of the most impactful insights go beyond code—especially in accessibility and security.