As you write your PHP code, you'll need to verify that everything is working as expected and that the code follows all style and formatting requirements. In this list from the SitePoint PHP blog they give you a list of eight tools you can use to ensure all of these criteria are met.

For shipping quality code, we must have testing in mind while coding (if not doing TDD). However, with the wide range of PHP testing tools out there, it’s hard to make a choice! Exploring PHP is a fun adventure (premium course on that here!) but it’s hard to assemble a toolbelt that’s not too heavy to wear to work!

This popular article will highlight the most popular testing tools and has been updated to reflect the state of QA tools in 2017.

Included in their list are tools like:

• PHPUnit
• Cucumber
• Selenium
• Kahlan
• php_testability

The post ends with a brief look at continuous integration and how they can help execute these tools automatically when code changes or before production builds are deployed, taking most of the burden off of developers to remember.

Shameer C has a new post to his site sharing some of the things you can look forward to in PHP 7.1, the next larger release of the PHP language. In it he details his "top eight" changes and updates he thinks you'll need to know about.

PHP 7.1, the new minor version of PHP will be released on December 1st, with a number of new features, changes, and bug fixes. While we wait for it's release, let's look at some of the awesome features in PHP 7.1.

His list includes updates like:

• Iterable pseudo type
• Square bracket syntax for list()
• Class constant visibility
• Void functions

He provides code examples for each of the items on his list and, as a bonus, provides a bit of information about using a Docker container for testing out PHP 7.1 without messing up your local install.

If you're a Travis-CI user, like many projects are, you'll find this new post from Raphael Stolt very interesting. In it he provides "eight knobs" you can use to improve your use of the service and optimize your test runs.

After having refactored several Travis CI configuration files over the last weeks, this post will provide eight adjustments or patterns immediately applicable for faster, changeable, and economic builds.

Suggestions in his list include:

• Reduce git clone depth
• Configure PHP versions in an include
• Only do static code analysis or code coverage measurement once
• Run integration tests on very xth build

For each item on the list he includes the updates you'll need to make to your .travis.yml configuration to enable/disable the feature.

On the SitePoint PHP blog there's a new post from editor Bruno Skvorc sharing his list of top 8 plugins for Grav he sees as "must haves". Grav is a flat-file based content management system that uses modern PHP practices such as Composer packages, Makdown for content and YAML for configuration.

I recently switched my blog over from Blogger to Grav, and while quite a nifty platform on its own, Grav really shines once you prop it up with some custom themes and plugins.

This post will list the plugins I believe to be essential for a developer’s personal blog, and the reasons behind each suggestion.

Among the plugins on his list are options like:

• The Grav Admin panel
• Google Analytics integration
• External link functionality
• Code highlighting

He includes examples of what the output of each looks like when integrated into the site and how to get them installed and configured. Check out the remainder of the post for more in his list of suggestions.

With the next Laravel release (5.1) coming soon, the Laravel News site has gathered together all of the information that's been shared about what's to come. In this new post they list some of the updates and code where needed to illustrate.

Laravel 5.1 is scheduled for release in May and lots of new features will be included in this release. Here is a list of eight of the big changes and new features.

Their list of eight includes things like:

• LTS, Long Time Support
• Resolve a service from blade
• Middleware Parameters
• Broadcasting Events

You can find out more about these and others on the list in the full post.