DEV Community: devTalk

Stop repeating your where() clauses in Laravel 🔁

devTalk — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:06:14 +0000

If you've ever needed multiple aggregate queries (count, sum, avg) on the same filtered data, you've probably copy-pasted the same where() chain over and over.

The problem? Laravel's query builder is mutable. Once you run one query, chaining more methods onto it doesn't give you a "fresh" copy of your filters.

The fix: PHP's clone keyword.

$query = Event::where('status', 'active')
    ->where('created_at', '>=', now()->subDays(30));

$totalCount = (clone $query)->count();

$groupedCount = (clone $query)
    ->selectRaw('count(*) as count')
    ->groupBy('event')
    ->get();

Same filters, zero repetition, no leftover state messing up your results.

Small trick, but it keeps analytics/reporting code a lot cleaner.

Full write-up with more examples 👇
Read Article

🚀 Laravel 13.24 Added a Small Rule That Solves a Really Common API Headache

devTalk — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 02:50:24 +0000

Ever had a client send extra, unexpected keys inside a filter or settings array? A typo, stale frontend field, or someone poking at your validation?

Laravel finally has a clean, built-in way to lock this down: Rule::arrayKeys().

'filter' => Rule::arrayKeys([
'status',
'author',
'tag',
]),

Send anything outside status, author, or tag, and validation fails — with a message that actually tells you what went wrong (not just a vague "must be an array").

In the article I cover:
🔹 How array_keys differs from the old array:key1,key2 syntax (and why the old error messages were misleading)
🔹 Pairing it with required_array_keys() when some keys must be present
🔹 Using the :unexpected placeholder for genuinely helpful error responses
🔹 A full real-world example validating an API filter payload

No more writing custom Rule classes just to check array shapes.

Full writeup + code here: Link

What's your go-to approach for validating nested array payloads in Laravel? Curious if anyone's been doing this a different way.

Argon2 vs Bcrypt: The Modern Standard for Secure Passwords

devTalk — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:24:45 +0000

Password hashing is one of those "everyone knows it matters, nobody wants to research it at midnight" topics. This post breaks down Bcrypt vs Argon2 in plain English — no crypto degree required — and gives you a clear answer on which one to use in 2026, plus a zero-downtime migration path if you're still on Bcrypt.

Read full article

Preventing Password Reuse in Laravel 🔐

devTalk — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:16:08 +0000

Wrote up how I built laravel-password-history — a Composer package that stops users from recycling old passwords, using a polymorphic history table so it works with any Eloquent model, not just User.

Covers the validation rule, the auto-pruning logic, a scheduled cleanup command, and a service-provider bug I ran into (translations silently failing outside the console context).

📖 Full post: Article
📦 composer require devdasun/password-history
🔗 Repo

Feedback and PRs welcome, especially from anyone using non-standard auth setups.

MySQL WITH Clause & CTEs - A Complete Guide with Examples

devTalk — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 11:08:30 +0000

Stop Nesting Subqueries — Use CTEs Instead 🧠

Ever written a SQL query so deeply nested you couldn't
remember what the outer SELECT was even doing?

Yeah. We've all been there.

Common Table Expressions (CTEs) — introduced in MySQL 8.0
via the WITH keyword — are the clean, readable alternative
you've been looking for.

What you'll learn in this guide

🔹 What a CTE actually is (no fluff)
🔹 Basic WITH clause syntax
🔹 CTEs vs Subqueries — side by side
🔹 Chaining multiple CTEs in one query
🔹 WITH RECURSIVE for hierarchies & org charts
🔹 Real-world examples: running totals, deduplication, DELETE
🔹 Pitfalls to avoid (infinite loops, indexing, MySQL version)

The core idea in 10 seconds

WITH big_orders AS (
    SELECT order_id, customer_id, total_amount
    FROM   orders
    WHERE  total_amount > 500
)
SELECT c.customer_name, b.order_id, b.total_amount
FROM   big_orders b
JOIN   customers c ON c.customer_id = b.customer_id;

That's it. You named a query block big_orders and used it
like a table. No nested mess. No repeated logic.

Ready to level up your SQL?

👉 Read the full guide

─────────────────────────────
💬 Do you already use CTEs in your projects?
What's the most complex CTE you've written?
Share it below — let's learn from each other! 👇
─────────────────────────────

Redis Is Not Just a Cache — 8 Use Cases With Real Code

devTalk — Sun, 24 May 2026 08:56:59 +0000

Everyone learns Redis as a cache on day one.
Most developers never go further.

But here's the truth — the teams building at scale
use Redis for session storage, real-time leaderboards,
distributed locks, AI vector search, and a lot more.

In this post I break down 8 real Redis use cases
with actual commands and code so you can start
applying them today.

What's inside:

⚡ 8 production-grade Redis use cases explained clearly
💻 Real Redis commands for every use case
🤖 How Redis powers modern AI systems (Redis Iris)
📊 Quick reference table at the end

Whether you're a beginner just getting started or
a backend dev looking to level up — this one's for you.

Drop a ❤️ if you found it useful and comment
which use case surprised you the most 👇
READ ARTICLE

🔍 Struggling with slow search in your app?

devTalk — Sun, 17 May 2026 10:44:59 +0000

I just published a beginner-friendly guide on Elasticsearch —
the search engine powering GitHub, Netflix, and Uber.

Here's what you'll learn in 3 minutes:

✅ What Elasticsearch is (and when NOT to use it)
✅ Core concepts — Index, Document, Shard, Replica
✅ How to install it locally with Docker in 1 command
✅ Writing your first search query (with fuzzy/typo support!)
✅ Real-world use cases — e-commerce, logs, site search

💡 The biggest mistake beginners make?
Using Elasticsearch as their primary database. It's not.
Use it alongside PostgreSQL/MySQL — and watch your search fly.

👇 Full beginner guide here

Elasticsearch #BackendDevelopment #WebDevelopment

OpenSource #ELKStack #SearchEngine #Programming #DevCommunity

AWK vs MAWK: Differences, Performance & Real-World Examples

devTalk — Thu, 14 May 2026 11:35:10 +0000

TL;DR — There are two popular AWK implementations
on Linux and most developers only know one of them.

MAWK processes a 500MB file in 3.1 seconds.
GAWK takes 8.4 seconds for the same task.

Same syntax. No script changes needed.
Just a faster engine under the hood.

Quick decision rule I now follow:

→ Start with mawk for speed
→ Switch to gawk only if you need extensions
→ Your scripts stay portable either way

Read article

🔥 Laravel devs — stop using DB::enableQueryLog()

devTalk — Thu, 14 May 2026 11:31:25 +0000

I just published a quick but powerful tip that most
Laravel developers overlook completely.

Did you know Laravel has 6 built-in Eloquent query
debugging methods?

Most of us write this the hard way:

DB::enableQueryLog();
$users = User::where('active', 1)->get();
dd(DB::getQueryLog());

When you can just do this:

User::where('active', 1)
    ->orderBy('created_at', 'desc')
    ->ddRawSql();

One line. Full raw SQL. No setup. No package needed.

Here's the full toolkit:

Method	What it does
->dd()	Dump results and die
->dump()	Dump results, continue execution
->ddRawSql()	Full raw SQL with bindings, then die
->dumpRawSql()	Full raw SQL, continue execution
->toSql()	SQL string with ? placeholders
->getBindings()	Array of all binding values

I covered all 6 methods with real Artisan Tinker
examples in my latest article.

👉 Read it here

Drop a 🔥 if you didn't know about ->ddRawSql()!

Struggling with slow MySQL JOIN queries? 🤔

devTalk — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 04:49:50 +0000

Most developers rely on MySQL’s optimizer—but what if it chooses the wrong join order?
This article breaks down MySQL STRAIGHT_JOIN, showing how to manually control join execution, reduce scanned rows, and optimize slow queries using clear examples and best practices.

👉 Read here

How to Check if a String is Valid JSON in PHP

devTalk — Sat, 08 Nov 2025 05:46:49 +0000

PHP 8.3 introduced json_validate(), a dedicated function that's more efficient for checking JSON than the traditional json_decode()—but only in specific scenarios.

In my latest article, I break down:
✨ The key differences between these two methods
📊 When to use each for optimal performance
🚀 How to avoid the common pitfall of parsing JSON twice

If you work with APIs or data serialization, this is a must-read for writing cleaner, faster code.
Read the full article

JavaScript Objects: The Ultimate Guide You'll Actually Use

devTalk — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 18:56:50 +0000

Stop copy-pasting object code you don't understand. Let's build a deep, practical understanding of JavaScript objects together.

Read the full article