Coding Standard Laravel Package

Product Decisions This Supports

• PHP 8.4 Compatibility: Justifies adoption for teams upgrading to PHP 8.4, as the package now includes Rector fixes (DE-161039) to prevent breaking changes during migrations. Aligns with roadmap items like "Modernize PHP stack to 8.4" or "Reduce upgrade blockers."
• Reduced Maintenance Burden: Eliminates manual Rector configuration for public repo compatibility (PR #124), saving 5–10 hours/year per engineering team. Supports "Reduce devops overhead" initiatives.
• Future-Proofing: Proactive PHP 8.4 support ensures the package remains relevant for 2+ years, reducing risk of vendor lock-in or forced rework.
• Cross-Team Alignment: Standardized Rector workflows (even for public repos) reduce friction in multi-team contributions (e.g., open-source projects or shared libraries).

When to Consider This Package

Adopt if:

• Your team is migrating to PHP 8.4 and needs zero-effort Rector compatibility for existing coding standards.
• You use Rector in CI/CD but struggle with public repo constraints (e.g., GitHub Actions caching).
• Your current static analysis tooling fails on PHP 8.4 (e.g., outdated PHPStan/Psalm configs).
• You want to avoid manual Rector tuning while enforcing coding standards (saves 1–2 days per major PHP upgrade).

Look elsewhere if:

• You’re not using PHP 8.4 (changes are 8.4-specific; prior versions remain unaffected).
• Your team already maintains custom Rector rules and prefers granular control over bundled fixes.
• You rely on third-party Rector presets that conflict with this package’s workflow.

How to Pitch It (Stakeholders)

For Executives (1 slide):

Problem: "Our PHP 8.4 upgrade is stalled because static analysis tools (PHPStan, Rector) break on new syntax. Manual fixes add $Y/hour in dev time and delay feature releases."

Solution: *"brandembassy/coding-standard 14.8.1 now includes:

• PHP 8.4 Rector fixes (no manual tuning needed).
• Public repo compatibility (works in GitHub Actions without cache issues).
• Seamless upgrade path—enforce standards while avoiding breaking changes."*

Ask: "Approve using this package in our PHP 8.4 migration pilot. Metrics: Track upgrade velocity and CI pass rates post-implementation."

For Engineering (Deep Dive):

Key Updates for PHP 8.4:

Updated Implementation Plan:

1. Week 1: Add brandembassy/coding-standard:^14.8.1 to composer.json.
2. Week 2: Test PHP 8.4 compatibility in a staging repo (focus on Rector).
3. Week 3: Roll out to production; monitor CI flakiness and upgrade blockers.

GitHub Actions Snippet (PHP 8.4):

- run: vendor/bin/rector process src --dry-run --config=vendor/brandembassy/coding-standard/rector.php
- run: vendor/bin/phpstan analyse --level=5 --memory-limit=1G

Critical Metrics:

• PHP 8.4 upgrade time (pre/post enforcement).
• Rector false positives (track via CI logs).
• Dev satisfaction (survey: "How much easier was the 8.4 migration?").

Risks & Mitigations:

• Risk: Rector fixes conflict with existing rules. Mitigation: Run --dry-run first; override via rector.php if needed.
• Risk: Public repo workflow introduces security risks. Mitigation: Audit Rector’s public repo docs; restrict to allowlist paths.