Chapter 1. PHP and modern software development
This chapter covers:
A cartoon depicts a man in a business suit, apparently a doctor, talking on the telephone: “Yes, Mr. Jones, acupuncture may work for a while. Any quack treatment may work for a while. But only scientific medical practice can keep a person alive forever.”[1]
1 This is quoted from memory. I saw this cartoon years ago in the office of a colleague and have not seen it since.
This absurd and arrogant statement is obviously not likely to convince the patient. And yet, if we ignore the bizarre specifics, we can see that the fictitious doctor is at least addressing an important issue: the importance of keeping long-term goals in mind.
The long-term benefit of medical treatment is a long way from the subject matter of this book, but the long-term perspective in software development is another matter. Modern software engineering may not attempt to make software last forever, but long-term productivity is one of the key issues in the development of new technologies, principles, and methodologies. This is the reason why object-oriented programming is the de facto standard today: it is a way of making software easier to maintain and develop beyond the first version. Other buzzwords such as design patterns and agile development are also related to this.