Category: Async

Using ES2017 Async Functions

ES2017 was finalized in June, and with it came wide support for my new favorite JavaScript feature: async functions! If you’ve ever struggled with reasoning about asynchronous JavaScript, this is for you. If you haven’t, then, well, you’re probably a super-genius. Async functions more or less let you ...

Procedurally Generated Game Terrain with React, PHP, and WebSockets

Last time, I began telling you the story of how I wanted to make a game. I described how I set up the async PHP server, the Laravel Mix build chain, the React front end, and WebSockets connecting all this together. Now, let me tell you about what happened when I starting building the game mechanics with this mix of Rea...

Game Development with React and PHP: How Compatible Are They?

“I’d like to make a multiplayer, economy-based game. Something like Stardew Valley, but with none of the befriending aspects and a player-based economy.” I started thinking about this the moment I decided to try and build a game using PHP and React. The trouble is, I knew nothing about the dynamics of...

Writing Async Libraries – Let’s Convert HTML to PDF

I can barely remember a conference where the topic of asynchronous PHP wasn’t discussed. I am pleased that it’s so frequently spoken about these days. There’s a secret these speakers aren’t telling, though…Making asynchronous servers, resolving domain names, interacting with file systems...

Build a Superfast PHP Server in Minutes with Icicle

Event-based programming is a strange topic for PHP developers. In a language as procedural; events are little more than function calls. Nothing happens between events, and all meaningful code is still blocking. Languages like JavaScript show us what PHP could be like if event loops were at the center. Some folks have t...

An Introduction into Event Loops in PHP

PHP developers are always waiting for something. Sometimes we’re waiting for requests to remote services. Sometimes we’re waiting for databases to return rows from a complex query. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do other things during all that waiting? If you’ve written some JS, you’re probably familiar wit...