I’m about to go offline for a couple of days (for personal reasons) and was hoping to get an update out beforehand, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. (And, as is the way with such things, if you try to do something computer-y when you have no time to deal with any complications, that’s exactly when the complications happen.)

In any case, apologies–as always–on it being so long since my last update. Chapter 13, “Using Extensions”, was a pretty brutal update for Yii 2 as no Yii 1 extension works for Yii 2. So I had to reevaluate what extensions to cover, learn enough about them, etc., etc. Also, Chapter 20, “Working with Third-Party Libraries”, covered Elasticsearch in the first edition, but that’s now possible with a Yiisoft extension, so it got moved into Chapter 13 (and rewritten).

But Chapter 13 is done and I’m a bit past that and will get out a wee little update as soon as I’m back online. I also updated all of the errata in the book and on the website and replied to those people that emailed about them. (Big thanks to people that do so; I really appreciate it!)

Moving into the home stretch!

Forums back online

February 2, 2016

After a four-month hiatus, my support forums are officially back online. I’m also working on getting through the backlog of “things I need to investigate and give a definitive answer to”. That will be a continued work in progress for some time.

The forums are free for anyone to use, whether or not you’ve purchased a book (although supporting the books is the primary role of them). Understand that I do answer every forum posting, but do so as I have time. Assuming I’m not traveling or otherwise swamped, this means I answer questions 3 days per week, so it could (and likely will be) 2-3 days before you get a reply from me. (It’ll be longer if you email me directly, for the record.) Other people do help out as well, for which I am eternally grateful.

Finally, please remember that you’re asking for free help from strangers in these forums. Be patient and appreciative when people that don’t know you are giving up their time to try to help.

Thanks, as always, to those that help in the forums, those that share what they’ve learned, and to everyone interested in my books.

On Monday, November 2, 2015, I posted the second update of the second edition of “The Yii Book”. (I was hoping to blog about it here on Tuesday but…) This update brings the book to 307 pages, with four more revised chapters, bringing the total to 12. Specific release notes are…

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I just posted the first update for the second edition of “The Yii Book”, covering version 2 of the Yii framework. The release notes are lengthy, but a couple of quick “I’m aware” thoughts up front…

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Howdy, hey! This newsletter is about two months late in coming…but that’s how it’s going for me lately. On the other hand, the price (for you) is right, no? Anyway…

This is the final issue in my three-part series on the business of freelancing. The first part spoke about starting out. Part two focused on working with clients. The most important concept explained in that newsletter is to rethink how you think about clients.

In this newsletter, I’m going to speak to what freelancing is in actuality, while you’re doing it. Well, what it was like in my experience anyway. (For context, I freelanced for 14 years before stopping in 2013 when I joined Stripe).

As always, questions, comments, and all feedback are much appreciated. And thanks for your interest in what I have to say and do!

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