This operator helps to remove the use of isset() function. Let’s see how:

In some cases, we need to check if a variable exists then assign that value else assign some default value. before PHP 7 we used to do this as below:

$data['username'] = (isset($data['username']) ? $data['username'] : 'guest');

After the release of PHP 7, we were able to achieve the same using the following:

$data['username'] = $data['username'] ?? 'guest';

After the release of PHP 7.4, we can further simplify this as below:

$data['username'] ??= 'guest';

All the above code block does the same thing. So pretty clear, right?

The post Null Coalescing Assignment Operator in PHP 7.4 first appeared on Xpert Developer.

Over 75 million WordPress sites are known to exist, making up about a third of all active websites on the Internet!

Before we look into a whole list, I will list some best of them here:

And it’s not just your average Joe’s business enterprise that makes use of WordPress, either. Many world-famous companies and institutions also utilize it. These include the likes of Sony Music, eBay Inc., BBC America, Mercedes-Benz, Time, The Rolling Stones – the list goes on and on.

WordPress is so prevalent in the realm of web design because it is a powerful and versatile tool. This content management system arrived on the scene in 2003. It was created by Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg as a fork of b2, its predecessor. WordPress managed to win significant recognition and popularity because it’s easy and intuitive to use. What’s more, it features a vast array of themes and plugins.

It gets even better:

WordPress is completely free to download and use, so you are more than welcome to use it right now, if you so wished. And you’d quickly learn how to use it effectively. Believe it or not, you don’t need to put in long hours to make a decent looking web page.

And if you think WordPress could do with some tweaks and adjustments, you’re allowed to change the source code to your liking. You can even share this new version with the world, without any fear of a litany of litigious threats coming your way. What’s not to like!

This is just the beginning of the story, however. There’s much more to what makes WordPress tick than this brief introduction could ever hope to describe.

But don’t worry:

There is a place where you can get all the important info you need.

Pretty much anything you have to know about WordPress is in the infographic below, given to you in a sea of quick and fun facts and stats, not weighed down by walls of unnecessary text. It would be a challenge to find a better place where you can learn about this topic in such a condensed yet engaging format.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

The post Everything You Need to Know Concerning WordPress first appeared on Xpert Developer.

You might wonder why a separate article on this simple topic but before thinking that try running the below php code once.

echo (5.63+0.06) - 5.69;

Are you surprised now? You will end up with the result like -8.8817841970013E-16 even if we have the same value at both sides of expression.

Before we look into the correct way to deal with float values in PHP, first have a look at the reason for this odd behaviour of float values in PHP.

PHP official website has already added a warning for the same behaviour of float values. So I will grab that exact explanation here:

Up to here, we have seen why this type of strange behavior happens while working with float values in PHP. Now time to see how we can deal with these float values in PHP.

Comparing float values in PHP

First, we will see how you can get into a trap of float values while comparing those. We will with code examples to understand this in a better way. Refer few code blocks below to check the same:

$a = 5.69;
$b = 5.69;
var_dump($a == $b);
// Output: bool(true)

In the above code block, we can see that both values are the same and giving us the proper result. Now let’s check the tricky part in comparing float values in PHP.

$a = 5.63 + 0.06;
$b = 5.69;
 var_dump($a == $b);
// Output: bool(false)

Solution

A quick and simple solution to this problem in comparing float values is to cast that to string and compare those values. Now it will compare two strings and it does not have any precision error.

$a = (string) (5.63 + 0.06);
$b = (string) 5.69;
var_dump($a == $b);
// Output: bool(true)

If you think (like me) converting to a string gives us a correct result. But is not an ideal solution then the next solution is for you.

To get the solution of the above problem, we will need BCMath PHP Extension installed with PHP. You can read this article on how to install PHP BCMath in PHP.

Once you are done with installing BCMath extension, you can use below code and get the proper result. Instead of using direct sum we will use the bcadd method.

$a = bcadd(5.63, 0.06, 2);
$b = bcadd(5.69, 0, 2);
var_dump($a == $b);
// Output: bool(true)

Let’s have a look at one more example of the same kind of case:

echo bcadd(5.63, 0.06, 2) - 5.69;

You can find all the methods available for BCMath here. http://php.net/manual/en/ref.bc.php

Share if you have a similar kind of experience working with float values in PHP.

The post Caution while working with float values in PHP first appeared on Xpert Developer.

The post Install BCmath Extension in PHP first appeared on Xpert Developer.

It is an easy go-to for programmers and is currently being used by big industry players like Ford, Samsung, Christian Louboutin, Lenovo, Fox Connect, Coca-Cola, and Nike because of its open-source feature and the customizable features it offers. So if you have shopped online before or you do so often, it is very likely you have gone through a website that was built with Magento.
Stats show that as at 2017, more than 220,000 websites were active on the Magento platform. Today, the numbers have risen to well over 250,000 websites worldwide.

[gads]

Originally founded a decade and a year ago by Varien, Magento announced the launch of its premier beta client in the seven months that followed the software’s launch. It was also named after magenta, which was the color used for its first logo. Its current logo and name are, however, inspired by a popular game called Dungeons and Dragons.

Today, Magento boasts two versions – the free edition, which is also known as Magento Community, and Magento Commerce for enterprises.
The community created by Magento is run as such. It has an annual eCommerce conference of users, merchants, developers and partners. The first of this kind held in Los Angeles, USA in 2011 with over 600 people in attendance. However, the community currently boasts of over 800,000 users who come from over 73 countries from all around the world.

12 months after Magento was founded, it recorded 500,000 downloads and acquired over 50,000 merchant users that same year. In fact, till date, the word ‘Magento’ is a more searched word than the term “eCommerce” on the Google search engine.

[gads]

While most other website builders don’t require coding and so take away the flexibility that should come with owning your own website, Magento is designed for the avid programmer and allows a great deal of flexibility. It also is best suited for dedicated or VPS hosting, as the platform is not the lightest content management system out there. Luckily, discount hosting plans are not so hard to come by these days.

Now, that’s a challenge for non-programmers because the platform requires a certain level of coding competence. It also means that creating a website will be a herculean task without the requisite coding knowledge. To put it mildly, the platform is for coders who don’t want to start from scratch.

For starters, Magento’s source code has 11 programming languages and they include HTML, JavaScript, XML, PHP, CSS, ActionScript, XML schema, and MXML. Also, in data storage, it uses “entity.attribute.value” – all of these will probably not make sense to you if you are not familiar with programming.

Let’s go a few paces down memory lane to show you bits and pieces of the behind-the-scenes of Magento’s development.
In developing Magento, most of it, an estimated 99.9%, was developed in the Ukraine and that development, over the years, has taken 2514 years in man-hour efforts at a cost of $138,254,110.

[gads]

Today, the average salary earned by PHP developers of Magento is within the range of $73,000 and $103,000 with a good number of these developers in the U.S, Canada, Germany, India and Ukraine.

It also boast a gross merchandise of $100 billion every year while merchants who sell on the Magento platforms sold $101 billion worth of merchandise to over 51 million customers in 2016.

Moreover, of the 14,500 stores that use Magento’s platform, 6 out of 10 merchants run outfits that are business-to-business or business-to-customer in nature. And by projections, their customer base on their Magento-based websites would have increased by 200% in 2020.
By demographics, the country with the highest number of Magento users is the United States with a wide 100,000 margin between the numbers in the UK and Netherlands.

Revenue-wise, Magento has made $4.2billion in revenue and that figure is expected to grow to $14.2billion in 2020.

With Magento-based websites, like websites built on other platforms, security is always a major concern and the history says a few things about the issues customers and business owners who shop and own websites built with Magento have experienced or may be exposed to.

According to a recent survey, a significant 85% of eCommerce websites that have been hacked over the last decade have been Magento websites. And of the stores listed on the platform, at least 62% of them are prone to one security issue while 14% have over 4 security issues to deal with. In fact, it was recently discovered that over 4,000 stores that use the platform were exposed to attacks like cross-site scripting.

Stores can now choose to remain on the Magento 1 version or hop on to the Magento 2 version which is an improvement on the technical issues that the old version has. That said, it’s been discovered that stores that sell clothing accessories and products form the majority of those who use Magento.x1 while Magento.x2 is mostly used by stores that sell footwear, toys, computers, electronics, and cosmetics.

The post Facts about Magento You Should Know first appeared on Xpert Developer.

[gads]

So far, while we have yet to see anyone game propped up as the prevailing example of HTML5’s success, we have begun to see a lot of the positive effects we had expected. Some of the earlier implementations were in the casino genre, where the need to translate online success to mobile platforms was clear. Back in 2015, online developers working in this genre started to launch their first HTML5 products, optimizing games to suit multiple devices. Two years later, there are countless online casino titles that are available in identical form on mobile devices. It’s almost been a subtle shift, because this is an industry that’s always evolving and expanding with or without a new coding language, but it’s still resulted in a lot of fun, versatile games.

Beyond casino platforms, weve also seen the gradual rollout of a lot more impressive games that work similarly on different gaming systems of media. You might be surprised at some of the amazing games made with HTML5, in that some have become very popular without the fact that they were written in this language necessarily being broadcast. Bejeweled is probably the most famous of the bunch, though titles like 2048, Angry Birds, and HexGL are certainly recognizable as well.

[gads]

It’s pretty clear that expectations have been met regarding HTML5 game design. The next question is where it might go from here? To address this question we need only think about the near future of gaming in general, and there it’s clear that virtual reality is king. So—can HTML5 boost VR gaming in any significant way?

That’s a difficult question to answer at this stage given that VR is still getting off the ground, at least where game design is concerned. But the name to watch is WebVR. This is effectively another design language that has been described as virtual reality’s sweet spot, and it’s one that can actually be paired with HTML5. The effect is basically to turn web-based games into VR experiences that can be enjoyed on phones or desktops, without any kind of VR equipment. Its a means of bringing VR gaming to the masses and broadening the experiences, and its one of the key developments that could make VR more popular.

The post Can HTML5 Boost VR Gaming? first appeared on Xpert Developer.

An SSL certificate is all you need to get started with securing your site. There are a number of independent certificate issuing companies that can help you get your site secured in no time. Why is using SSL certificate important? There are a number of reasons why SSL certificate is a must, including some benefits you wouldn’t want to miss.

Basic Authentication

One of the first functions of using an SSL certificate is to provide authentication. With an SSL certificate in place, users can rest assured knowing that the information they get is coming from the right server instead of an imposter. It works the other way around too. When user submits their information, such as login information or credit card details, they know for sure that the information is being sent to the right server.

Authentication is becoming more and more important due to the increase in phishing attacks. With over 70% of our lives now stored digitally, protecting information online is becoming very important. The presence of an SSL certificate and good implementation of SSL security adds that extra layer of confidence when browsing the web.

Speaking of confidence….

Trust and Credibility

A basic SSL certificate can now be acquired for free thanks to programs like Let’s Encrypt. The free SSL certificate will verify that the domain name access by users is hosted by the right server, providing an extra layer of security in the process. This is called a Domain Validated certificate and it’s the most basic type of SSL certificate on the market. A DV certificate, however, is not the only type of SSL certificate you can get today.

If you’re running an online store or a web service, you may want to consider getting an Organization Validated certificate or OV certificate. As you may have guessed, there are more verification steps to complete before you can acquire an OV certificate. The certificate issuing agency will also verify the existence of your business, either through direct confirmations or by relying on government databases.

OV certificates will display more information when clicked. It will verify that the domain is owned and run by the right company. For ecommerce websites, this establishes trust and increase credibility. Customers will feel more confident about making purchases on the online store.

Good for SEO

As mentioned before, Google and other big brands are starting to take active steps towards a more secured World Wide Web. One of those steps is prioritizing secured contents when displaying search results; Google, Bing and other popular search engines are starting to take the use of SSL certificate as one of the metrics when ranking websites for search results.

Adding a valid SSL certificate to your site alone can help boost SEO performance by a substantial margin. You will have to optimize the rest of the site for maximum performance, but the SSL security is a great start.

Safe Data Transmissions

Another key advantage of using a valid SSL certificate is encryption. The information transmitted to and from the server will not be vulnerable to theft and sniffing. Only end points with the right encryption key can decode the transmitted data.

That brings us back to the credit card details and personal information sent by customers to online stores. For ecommerce site owners, a good SSL security implementation is a must. It will help prevent cases of data leaks that can bring a successful online store to a close.

Direct Impact on Revenue

One of the things that prevent site owners from investing in a valid SSL certificate is price. A good certificate issued by a reputable body such as Verisign or Symantec can be rather expensive. That said, the verified certificate will also have a direct impact on sales and revenue, especially in the case of online stores.

A lot of studies have revealed that ecommerce sites that are covered with a valid SSL certificate entirely can expect a boost in sales of up to 20% in the first three months alone. The higher level of confidence customers have when browsing through secured sites make them more likely to complete their purchases without hesitation.

The SSL certificate will practically pay for itself. You don’t have to rely on expensive SSL certificates too. Some hosting companies are adding a free SSL certificate to certain service packages. The benefits of having a valid certificate, however, are indeed too good to miss. Get a good SSL certificate implemented today and start enjoying these benefits we have covered in this article.

The post Secure Websites – Why Using an SSL Certificate is Important first appeared on Xpert Developer.

[gads]

Some languages have steeper learning curves that others. Aharon Yadin from The Max Stern Academic College of Emek Yezreel in Israel said that starting with Python reduces the drop out from coding classes by up to 77%, for example. It is better to start with the relatively easier languages before moving on to the complex coding languages. Here are three of the simpler languages that are recommended for beginners.

C++

C++ is the step-up language from C. It is considered a fundamental programming language because it addresses the beginning of computer programming. C++ is not necessarily applicable for the learner as a language for writing code that he or she will use in the future, but it is a useful tool for learning how to think like a programmer. C++ teaches the student how to define the problem, create a plan of action and follow through with execution. C++ is used in a wide variety of applications ranging from robotics to video games. Learning it, therefore, will equip a beginner with the basics of programming.

[gads]

Python

Some experts recommend Python as the first coding language to learn. It was developed in the 1980s by Guido van Rossum. He then gave the language to the Python Software Foundation, which in turn set up the rules. Python is an open source language. That means it can be used by anyone for any purpose, including commercial purposes, for free. Python is predominantly a scripting language, meaning that it is best used for creating easy-to-read code in a short time. Python is a high-level flexible language and as such is used for many applications. With the language being open source, there is a ton of documentation and instructional material that is freely available online for beginners.

Java

Java is an object-oriented programming language that was developed by Oracle. It is one of the most enduring languages as it is found in almost all applications written in code. The wide use makes it a valuable tool to learn. Java is not easy to learn. However, there are many places where coding can be learnt for free, so anyone willing to dedicate time and effort can master coding in Java. The language fosters analytical and logical thinking, all skills which are invaluable in coding.

Regardless what language you choose to start with, the most important thing is the application of effort and time.

The post 3 Coding Languages to Kick Off Your Programming Journey first appeared on Xpert Developer.

Faster is Better

In the older versions of Magento 2, speed was quite the disagreement. But thanks to the superior coding practices of Magento developers, the new version has wiped all records of slow page loading and delayed checkout process. Magento 2 now loads pages 50% faster than Magento 1x. The checkout process has also improved and now runs 38% faster than the previous versions. The page loading has been significantly reduced and set to benchmark of maximum 2 seconds. This means Magento 2 merchants no longer need to suffer increased bounce rates and shopping cart abandonment due to sluggish page loading and broken checkout process. With the new coding techniques, the Magento 2 can take on orders 117% more orders compared to the older versions without breaking a sweat. Its now capable of handling heavier loads than it used, but without compromising the user experience. With its notched up performance in speed, it can now take up to 2.1 million more page views per hour.

Speed is a significant improvement in the new version, but not the only improvement. Magento 2 now features much safer transactions with secured payment gateways through its enhanced modular structure. Merchants can use SEO feature more freely and effectively to rank their web pages and get better results in faster periods. The back office is also simplified and streamlined compared to the previous admin panel. The navigation is compact with elegantly designed panel. Any merchant can use it without needing any technical skills or prior experience. To view more information about Magento 2, see the infographic below.

The post Magento 1 Vs Magento 2 [Infographic] first appeared on Xpert Developer.

In this quick tip, we are going to see how DSN should be created for different Database servers.

[gads]

If you are running the basic app of Yii2 then you need to make these changes in [code]db.php[/code] file under config directory and in case of advance application, it should be done in [code]main.php[/code] under config directory.

[cc lang=”php”]
[
‘class’ => ‘yii\db\Connection’,
‘dsn’ => ‘mysql:host=localhost;dbname=reportsa_macromoney’, // MySQL, MariaDB
//’dsn’ => ‘sqlite:/path/to/database/file’, // SQLite
//’dsn’ => ‘pgsql:host=localhost;port=5432;dbname=mydatabase’, // PostgreSQL
//’dsn’ => ‘cubrid:dbname=demodb;host=localhost;port=33000’, // CUBRID
//’dsn’ => ‘sqlsrv:Server=localhost;Database=mydatabase’, // MS SQL Server, sqlsrv driver
//’dsn’ => ‘dblib:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase’, // MS SQL Server, dblib driver
//’dsn’ => ‘mssql:host=localhost;dbname=mydatabase’, // MS SQL Server, mssql driver
//’dsn’ => ‘oci:dbname=//localhost:1521/mydatabase’, // Oracle
‘username’ => ‘DB User Name’,
‘password’ => ‘Password for selected user’,
‘charset’ => ‘utf8’,
]
];
];

?>
[/cc]

The post Yii2: Connection string for different Database Server first appeared on Xpert Developer.