Happy Holidays! This week, we discuss tackling some queue serialization issues, debating migrations versus seeders, and discussing some new ideas for Laravel Core PRs. We also discuss PHP 8.4’s latest features, why down methods might be risky, and how custom stubs could make development smoother.

In this episode of Midwest Artisan, we discuss Laravel Nightwatch, Instantiating a class via constructor property promotion, DTOs, and practical AI features in Laravel apps.

Nightwatch QA with Matt Staufer: https://laravelpodcast.com/episodes/laracon-au-update-nightwatch-q-a
Instantiating a class via constructor property promotion: https://travisnorthcutt.com/til/php-constructor-property-promotion/

• (00:00) - - Intro
• (00:05) - - Nightwatch
• (09:09) - - Instantiating a class via constructor property promotion
• (17:54) - - DTOs: Good? Bad? Ugly?
• (27:56) - - API Resources vs DTOs
• (33:53) - - Do you use Claude, ChatGPT, or Cursor?
• (41:07) - - Dalton adding AI to Laravel projects
• (44:55) - - What’s a practical AI usage for clients?
• (56:30) - - Outro

This week we discuss the common occurrence of over-engineered abstractions, digging into post-request logic without losing our minds, analytics, and securing digital assets.

Show Links:
Mergeloop - https://mergeloop.dev/
Zendesk Breach - https://therecord.media/internet-archive-alleged-zendesk-account-breach
Heap Analytics - https://www.heap.io/

This week, we’re excited to welcome Doug Sisk, the creator of WDW Passport, a Laravel-powered application designed to help users plan their Disney World trips. Doug shares his journey from developing the app to 'scratch his own itch' and turning it into a successful tool for Disney enthusiasts. We dive into the technical side of things, discussing the use of Laravel and Livewire, tackling API integration challenges, and the transition into Websockets.

WDW Passport: https://wdwpassport.com/
Doug Sisk: https://x.com/Doug_Sisk
Fused Agency: https://fusedagency.com/
ThemeParks.wiki: https://themeparks.wiki/
Give Kids The World Village: https://www.gktw.org/

0:00 - Introduction
0:11 - WDW Passport / Doug Sisk
6:25 - Inspiration on creating WDW Passport
11:18 - Wait Time APIs
14:04 - Initial WDW Passport Stack
15:44 - WDW Passport UI/UX
17:27 - Migration to Livewire
23:38 - Selecting PHP vs. Other Languages
25:19 - Which APIs are you using?
30:22 - Similiar Applications
34:08 - How do you push through being a solo developer?
40:45 - Other Projects
44:24 - Are mobile apps making a comeback?
46:25 - Tech required for Theme Parks
47:42 - What’s your queue setup?
54:04 - Give Kids The World
57:43 - Geeking out on Disney Technology
1:01:41 - Wrap / Where to find Doug

This week, we follow up on last week’s local fakes discussion and explore what it would take for us to fully embrace Statamic. We also tackle the big question: Do clients even use a CMS after it’s built? Maybe it’s just us, but the answer seems to be a majority time of no. YAGNI, anyone? And, in exciting news, Dalton drops not one but TWO new products—RapidSaaS Conduit and Autoload!

Show Notes:
Statamic Roundtable - Mostly Technical Ep 52
Adam's Tailwind 3:16 Shirt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrzrSFbxW7M
Fake Drivers (North Meets South Podcast) - https://www.northmeetssouth.audio/163
Mergeloop - https://mergeloop.dev/
RapidSaaS Conduit - https://rapidsaas.dev/
Autoload (for Filament) - https://autoload.dev/

• (00:00) - - Intro
• (02:31) - - Andy's vendor emailing from Israel
• (03:30) - - Andy went to Wrestemania
• (04:10) - - Kids names or big personalities in unit tests
• (05:08) - - Tailwind 3:16
• (06:08) - - Local Fake Drivers/HTTP Facade (post discussion)
• (13:30) - - What would it take for our agency to use Statamic more?
• (24:47) - - Why do clients rarely want to use the CMS?
• (27:44) - - When do you choose WordPress?
• (28:45) - - Improving DX with WordPress using Bedrock/Sage
• (29:41) - - WpEngine Drama + How our agency was affected
• (38:15) - - Dalton Launches Not One but TWO products this week
• (43:26) - - Building a Company from Scratch
• (44:09) - - RapidSaaS Conduit: Laravel SaaS Starter Kit
• (55:11) - - Introducing AutoLoad: CMS with Filament
• (58:04) - - Pricing Strategies and Market Positioning
• (01:01:50) - - Future Plans and Roadmap
• (01:18:00) - - Outro

In this episode, we cover the launch of Caleb’s Flux UI component library, and dive into the benefits of mocking APIs locally for faster development. We also highlight Aaron Francis’ new Postgres course, and wrap things up with the web dev battle YouTube channel and how a foodie app we built, QuizKnows, played a role in landing our first jobs.

Show links:
Flux UI Launch Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEMWcWQWJC0
Flux UI: https://fluxui.dev/
QuizKnows: https://github.com/ahinkle/quizknows
Web Dev Battle (Foodie Battle): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Oxy6WV7zag
Blazing Wing Challenge: https://www.buffalowildwings.com/blazin-challenge/

In this episode, Andy and Dalton dive into a wide array[] of topics, from Laravel's exciting $57 million funding to the buzz around FluxUI’s pricing drama and the much-anticipated features coming in Inertia 2.0.

Along the way, they explore the need for a modernized PHP documentation (shoutout to Tim McDonald for his work!), a fun chat about Dalton’s latest project, and... shaving and beards?

Show Links:
Laravel raises $57M: https://x.com/taylorotwell/status/1831668872732180697
Theo: https://x.com/t3dotgg/status/1833086692565106692
Caleb's Notes on Work: https://notesonwork.transistor.fm/
Tim's PHP Docs refresh: https://x.com/timacdonald87/status/1631504755225919489

Connect with us:
Andy Hinkle - X/@andyhnk
Dalton McCleery - X/@DaltonMcCleery

• (00:00) - Intro
• (02:06) - Laravel Secures $57 Million in Funding
• (08:16) - The Drama of FluxUI's Pricing
• (13:30) - The Importance of Kindness in the Developer Community
• (17:58) - Exciting Features in Inertia 2.0
• (21:30) - The Growing Influence of the Laravel Ecosystem
• (27:14) - Laravel's Plans and Projects
• (33:11) - Tim McDonald's Work on Improving the PHP Documentation
• (50:42) - Shaving Habits and Preferences.. yeah..
• (52:56) - Dalton Project X update
• (56:43) - Handling SaaS Subscriptions
• (59:07) - The Delightful Artisan Brew
• (01:05:31) - Outro

This week, we're diving into all things post-Laracon! Andy shares his wild adventure just getting to Dallas with a few unexpected twists and turns along the way. We break down the highlights from Laracon, including the exciting announcements about Laravel Cloud and the amazing talks that left us inspired and ready to code.

But what truly makes Laracon special? The community. From the great conversations to the friendly faces, it's the people who make Laracon an unforgettable experience every time.

Plus, Andy gives a heartfelt follow-up on his podcast idea, Artisan's Journey. He opens up about the overwhelming positive feedback he received at Laracon and how it’s fueling his passion to continue exploring the journeys of fellow developers.

Andy and Dalton cap it off with their excitement about Laravel Cloud and how excited they are to see Laravel's growth in years to come.

Show Links:
https://cloud.laravel.com/

Connect with us:
Andy Hinkle - X/@andyhnk
Dalton McCleery - X/@DaltonMcCleery