On the final Wednesday of October, the PHP Berkshire community met at Thirsty Bear in Reading. With over 25 attendees, it was our largest gathering to date. The evening was filled with valuable discussions, knowledge sharing, and networking.
The Talks
Peter Richard: ‘From the Stone Age to the Cloud’
The evening began with a talk by Peter Richard, a developer with over 40 years of experience. His presentation, From the Stone Age to the Cloud, explored the challenges and approaches for updating legacy PHP code. Peter highlighted how development practices and technologies have changed over time, offering practical advice and insights into modernising older systems. His slides are available here.
Derick Rethans: ‘What’s New in PHP 8.4’
Next, we heard from Derick Rethans, creator of Xdebug and a key contributor to PHP internals. Derick introduced the upcoming features in PHP 8.4, including:
- Property Hooks
- Asynchronous Visibility
- Improved HTML5 Parsing
He also shared tips on using these features in everyday development. For more details, check out the recommended article State of Generics and Collections here.
What’s Coming Up?
Here’s what’s next for the PHP community:
- PHP Oxford – 21st November
Talks by Gina Peter Banyard and Andy Burgess. RSVP on MeetUp or visit humand.co.uk/events. - PHP Berkshire – 11th December
Our final meetup of the year will feature Andy Burgess, who will compare COBOL with PHP. Wear your Christmas jumper!
Changes Ahead for 2025
The new year will bring some exciting developments for our community:
- Eventbrite for Registrations
From 2025, we’ll use Eventbrite for event registrations. Stay updated or follow us here: Eventbrite – Humand Talent. - PHP Thames Valley
We’re planning a merger with PHP Oxford to create PHP Thames Valley, offering monthly events across the region. These will include varied formats like roundtable discussions, hackathons and casual dinners. Keep an eye out for more details in the New Year!
Get Involved
We’re always on the lookout for speakers, sponsors, and venues. Whether you’d like to share knowledge, support the community, or host an event, we’d love to hear from you.
📧 Contact our Community Manager, Rebecca, at rebecca@humand.co.uk
🌐 Visit humand.co.uk for more information.
Stay Connected
Keep up with the latest updates and join the conversation using our hashtags:
#PHP #PHPCommunity #PHP8.4 #HumandTalent #RecruitmentBusiness #TalentSolutions #SoftwareEngineering #HumandEvents #PHPUserGroup
Let’s continue supporting the growth of PHP professionals across the region.
Speaker Sign-Up Form: Click Here
