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YAGNI: The Key to Simpler, More Maintainable Code

In software development, it’s tempting to build features for future needs, anticipating what might be useful down the road. However, over-engineering often leads to wasted effort and unnecessary complexity. This is where the YAGNI principle comes in—one of the core tenets of agile development. What is YAGNI? YAGNI

Stop Over-Abstracting: The Hidden Costs of Premature Wrappers

In software development, there's a type of developer I like to call the Over-Abstractor. This is the dev who, upon considering any new library, immediately suggests wrapping it in an abstraction layer "just in case" we want to switch to something else later. It sounds smart

How to Force npm install to Read from package.json Instead of package-lock.json

When running npm install, Node.js package manager (npm) typically relies on the package-lock.json file to ensure that dependencies are installed exactly as recorded. However, there are times when you may want to force npm install to read only from package.json and ignore the lock file and existing

Mastering systemctl for Docker and Beyond

When working with Docker, you often find yourself running the command: sudo systemctl status docker This command is commonly used to check the status of the Docker service, but systemctl is far more powerful than just that. Let’s break down what this command does, explore other useful variations, and

Mastering git reset --hard and git push --force: The Double-Edged Sword

Git is an incredibly powerful version control system, but with great power comes great responsibility. Two of the most dangerous yet useful commands in Git are: git reset --hard <commit_hash_id> git push --force If you've ever found yourself needing to undo changes and force

Understanding git push --force: When and When NOT to Use It

When working with Git, you may have come across the command git push --force. This command is powerful, but it comes with risks. If used incorrectly, it can erase commits, overwrite changes, and cause problems for team collaboration. In this article, we’ll dive deep into what git push --force

The Clean Slate Approach: Fixing Node.js Dependency Issues Like a Pro

If you’ve ever updated your dependencies in a Node.js project only to find that something is mysteriously broken, you’re not alone. A common culprit? Lingering old dependencies in node_modules or mismatches in package-lock.json. This is one of those classic debugging nightmares that can waste hours

Using Virtual Columns in Laravel Queries and Filtering with HAVING

When working with Laravel’s Eloquent ORM, you may sometimes need to add virtual columns to your query results—columns that don’t exist in your database table but are generated dynamically. A common use case is adding a constant value, a computed field, or even an aggregated result. One

The Hidden Danger of finally with await in JavaScript

When working with asynchronous code in JavaScript, proper resource management is crucial. The try...finally construct is often used to ensure that cleanup logic always runs, even if an error occurs. However, placing await inside a finally block can introduce unintended issues that developers might overlook. Understanding the Problem Consider

Mastering Docker Builds: Understanding --progress=plain and Essential Best Practices

When working with Docker, one of the most common commands you’ll use is docker build. This command creates a Docker image from a Dockerfile, and while it seems straightforward, there are several optimizations and configurations that can improve both efficiency and debugging. One such option is --progress=plain, which

How to Store and Retrieve Clean Phone Numbers in Laravel Eloquent

When working with phone numbers in a Laravel application, it's essential to ensure they are stored in a clean and consistent format in the database. However, when retrieving the data, we often need to format it correctly for display. In this article, we'll explore how to

Handling Symfony Validator's Collection Constraint: Avoiding InvalidOptionsException

When working with Symfony's Validator Component, using Assert\Collection can sometimes lead to unexpected errors, such as: PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Symfony\Component\Validator\Exception\InvalidOptionsException: The options "company_name", "email", "first_name", "last_name", "password", "roles&

Ensuring Proper Email Validation in PHP: Avoiding False Positives

When working with email validation in PHP, you might assume that using FILTER_VALIDATE_EMAIL is enough. However, this built-in filter can sometimes allow invalid email formats, leading to unexpected issues in your application. A common example is a string like +44112233, which is clearly not an email, yet PHP

Why React Developers Prefer const fetchData = async () => {} Over async function fetchData()

When writing asynchronous functions in React, you’ve probably noticed that developers tend to use the arrow function syntax: const fetchData = async () => {} more often than the traditional function declaration: async function fetchData() {} But why is this the case? While both approaches work, there are several key reasons why arrow