Symfony Station Communiqué — 08 December 2023. A look at Symfony, Drupal, PHP, Cybersec, and Fediverse news!
Tags: symfony, drupal, php, fediverse
Published: 2023-12-09 14:48:30

This communiqué [originally appeared on Symfony Station](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023). 

Welcome to this week's Symfony Station communiqué. It's your review of the essential news in the Symfony and PHP development communities focusing on protecting democracy. Because open-source equals open societies, peeps. We also cover the cybersecurity world and the Fediverse (more open-source). There are a lot of Symfony articles this week which is fantastiqué! Let's hope there will be a ship ton of SymfonyCon articles next week.

There is good content in the all of our categories, so please take your time and enjoy the items most relevant and valuable to you. This is why we publish on Fridays. So you can savor it over your weekend. 😉

Or jump straight to your favorite section via our website.

- [Symfony](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023#symfony)
- [PHP](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023#php)
- [More Programming](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023#more)
- [Fighting for Democracy](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023#other)
- [Cybersecurity](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023#cybersecurity)
- [Fediverse](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-08-December-2023#fediverse)

Once again, thanks go out to Javier Eguiluz and Symfony for sharing [our communiqué](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Symfony-Station-Communique-01-December-2023) in their [Week of Symfony](https://symfony.com/blog/a-week-of-symfony-883-27-november-3-december-2023). 

**My opinions will be in bold. And often involve cursing.**

---

![Symfony logo](https://www.symfonystation.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Symfony-2.png)

## Symfony

As always, we will start with the official news from Symfony.

Highlight -> "This week, Symfony 6.4.0 and Symfony 7.0.0 stable versions were released. We also published a [Symfony 7 landing page](https://symfony.com/7) to summarize the main new features of this version. In addition, we [introduced the Symfony 7 certification](https://symfony.com/blog/introducing-the-symfony-7-certification). Lastly, the SymfonyCon Brussels 2023 conference will take place next week."

[A Week of Symfony #883 (27 November - 3 December 2023)](https://symfony.com/blog/a-week-of-symfony-883-27-november-3-december-2023) 

They also have:

[New in Symfony 6.4: DX Improvements (part 2)](https://symfony.com/blog/new-in-symfony-6-4-dx-improvements-part-2)

[New in Symfony 6.4: Workflow Profiler](https://symfony.com/blog/new-in-symfony-6-4-workflow-profiler)

SymfonyCasts continues its LAST stack course:

[This week on SymfonyCasts](https://5hy9x.r.a.d.sendibm1.com/mk/mr/sh/1t6AVsd2XFnIGBrRERGJumwddAsNT1/1qsnzf7ZcyfW)

**This is an outstanding one and free through January 15th.**

And of course, [SymfonyCon Brussels](https://live.symfony.com/2023-brussels-con/) is rolling along this week.


---
## Featured Item

Nico Anastasio writes:

"Is Symfony a front-end or back-end framework? In this blog post, We will see Symfony Views, where front-end technologies merge with the back-end to create beautiful and dynamic web applications.

I’ll share insights on how you can harness the full potential of Symfony’s Views to create stunning user interfaces, all while enjoying the robustness and flexibility that Symfony offers."
  
### [Is Symfony a front-end or back-end framework?](https://faun.pub/is-symfony-a-front-end-or-back-end-framework-72d698295041)


---

### This Week

Sajjad Hussain explores:

[The Basic Concepts of Symfony Framework: A Comprehensive Guide](https://medium.com/cloud-believers/the-basic-concepts-of-symfony-framework-a-comprehensive-guide-d3fee80c3e31)

**This is a fantastic overview.**

Daniyal Javani shows us:

[How to Implement a Simple Queue in Symfony](https://dev.to/daniyaljavani/how-to-implement-a-simple-queue-in-symfony-530a)

Brian Thiely shares:

[Contextualizing Symfony 7’s Scheduler: Real-World Applications](https://medium.com/@brian.thiely/contextualizing-symfony-7s-scheduler-real-world-applications-6dd3018d2f81)

And joliCode shows us how to:

[Master task scheduling with Symfony Scheduler](https://jolicode.com/blog/master-task-scheduling-with-symfony-scheduler)

Hazar Nenni examines:

[The Power of Symfony in DevOps](https://dev.to/hazarnenni/the-power-of-symfony-in-devops-55ng)

Mathia Pagani looks at:

[Symfony and iRODS Optimization: Python, Asynchronous Handling, and Redis Integration](https://medium.com/@mathiapagani/symfony-and-irods-optimization-python-asynchronous-handling-and-redis-integration-023137a98cb5)

**Great stuff.**

OpenAI PHP for Symfony is a community-maintained PHP API client that allows you to interact with the Open AI API.

[OpenAI PHP for Symfony](https://github.com/openai-php/symfony)

Ruben Rubio explores:

[Optimising a web application (I): seeing](https://dev.to/rubenrubiob/optimising-a-web-application-i-seeing-16dg)

Xin Tao shares:

[Unit, integration, and application tests for Symfony applications](https://medium.com/ekino-france/unit-integration-and-application-tests-for-symfony-applications-2410911b87ab)

Kévin Dunglas has:

[PHP and Symfony Apps As Standalone Binaries](https://dunglas.dev/2023/12/php-and-symfony-apps-as-standalone-binaries/)

### eCommerce

Droptica exmanines:

[Recurring Payments in Drupal Commerce with PayPal. How to Set Up the Braintree Module?](https://www.droptica.com/blog/recurring-payments-drupal-commerce-paypal-how-set-braintree-module/)

Sylius has a:

[Month of Sylius: November](https://sylius.com/blog/month-of-sylius-november/)

And Shopware has the:

[Shopware Community Digest November 23](https://www.shopware.com/en/news/shopware-community-digest-november-23/)

### Platforms



### CMSs


In Web Works looks at:

[The Admin Toolbar - A Phenomenal Drupal Module for Website](https://www.lnwebworks.com/Insight/admin-toolbar-drupal-module) 

QTA Tech shares:

[Choosing the Best Drupal Approach: Headless or Decoupled?](https://qtatech.com/en/article/choosing-best-drupal-approach-headless-or-decoupled) 

**I still think headless is a stupid term. It should be called frontless. And if you need something like this, go the decoupled route.**

If you are into this sort of thing, Prometsource has:

[Exploring AI for Drupal Development](https://www.prometsource.com/blog/exploring-ai-drupal-development-1)

And shows us:

[How to Keep Data Secure During a CMS Migration](https://www.prometsource.com/blog/data-security-during-cms-migration)  

Third and Grove has:

[A Closer Look at Drupal's New Major Release Cycle](https://www.thirdandgrove.com/insights/closer-look-drupals-new-major-release-cycle/)

Drupalize Me is:

[Planning a Better "Hello, World" for Drupal](https://drupalize.me/blog/planning-better-hello-world-drupal)

**This is promising. Because Drupal is a pain in the ass to learn how to use.**

Mandclu explores:

[Translatable Inline Lists in Drupal](https://www.mandclu.com/blog/translatable-inline-lists-drupal)

LostCarPark continues their Drupal advent calendar:

[Drupal Advent Calendar day 2 - Subpathauto and Friends](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/2/subpathauto-and-friends)  
  
[Drupal Advent Calendar day 3 - Markdown Easy](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/3/markdown-easy)  

**FYI. When I enabled this for the basic html editor, it broke my site. I guess it's for use in full HTML or text editing modes.**

[Drupal Advent Calendar day 4 - Advent Calendar Module](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/4/advent-calendar-module)

[Drupal Advent Calendar day 5 - Admin Navigation](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/5/new-admin-toolbar)

[Drupal Advent Calendar day 6 - Smart Trim](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/6/smart-trim)

[Drupal Advent Calendar day 7 - Extra Field](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/7/extra-field)

**Useful.**

[Drupal Advent Calendar day 8 - Disclosure Menu](https://lostcarpark.com/advent/2023/8/disclosure-menu)

ImageX examines:

[Tailored Admin Experiences for All Users with The Dashboard Initiative in Drupal](https://imagexmedia.com/blog/dashboard-initiative-drupal)

Cyberschorsch shares:

[Elevating Drupal's Capabilities with Redis for Advanced Data Management](https://cyberschorsch.dev/drupal/elevating-drupals-capabilities-redis-advanced-data-management)

**Great stuff.**

The Drop Times has a new newsletter.

[This Must Be the Place](https://www.thedroptimes.com/newsletter/must-be-place) 

And:

[Costa Rica 2023: A Glimpse into Success at Drupal Camp](https://www.thedroptimes.com/35922/costa-rica-2023-glimpse-success-at-drupal-camp)

[Driven by Community; Not by VC Funds: Andrew Berry on What Differentiates Drupal from SaaS Offerings](https://www.thedroptimes.com/interview/35682/drupal-digital-public-good-insights-andrew-berry)

DrupalEasy looks at:

[Using DrupalPod for core and contrib development](https://www.drupaleasy.com/blogs/ultimike/2023/12/using-drupalpod-core-and-contrib-development)

### Previous Weeks

Daniyal Javani shows us:

[A Simple Way to Validate API Requests in Symfony](https://dev.to/daniyaljavani/a-simple-way-to-validate-api-requests-in-symfony-with-dtos-and-annotations-1ge0)  

Ruben Rubio examines:

[Testing an OpenAPI specification in PHP](https://dev.to/rubenrubiob/testing-the-openapi-specification-in-php-5hle)  

Navid Hosseini looks at:

[Running a Symfony application on AWS Lambda (Part 1)](https://medium.com/@naviloper/running-a-symfony-application-on-aws-lambda-part-1-9f013e42a3d7)  


---

## PHP

### This Week

PhpStorm announces:

[PhpStorm 2023.3 Is Now Available](https://blog.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/2023/12/phpstorm-2023-3-is-now-available/)

And published:

[PHP Annotated – November 2023](https://blog.jetbrains.com/phpstorm/2023/12/php-annotated-november-2023/)

Alexander Goller explores:

[Serving Private Composer Packages with Serverless Cloudflare Workers and R2 Storage](https://www.alexandergoller.com/journal/14687/serving-private-composer-packages-with-serverless-cloudflare-workers-and-r2-storage/)

Julien Maury asks:

[PHP: why make your own exceptions?](https://dev.to/jmau111/php-why-make-your-own-exceptions-6pb)  

Pest announces:

[Stressless: Stress Testing for PHP](https://pestphp.com/docs/announcing-stressless)

Stefano Fago examines:

[Designing with PHP 8.1 Enumerations](https://dev.to/stefanofago73/designing-with-php-81-enumerations-33o8)

Cube shares:

[Code quality tool PHP_CodeSniffer has a new maintainer but needs corporate support](https://cu.be/code-quality-tool-php_codesniffer-has-a-new-maintainer-but-needs-corporate-support/)

Christian Nastassi looks at:

[Advanced Value Objects in PHP 8](https://dev.to/cnastasi/advanced-value-objects-in-php-8-1lp0)

Semaphore shares:

[NativePHP: Build Desktop Applications with PHP](https://semaphoreci.medium.com/nativephp-build-desktop-applications-with-php-6c9068accbb0)

Piotr Gołofit asks:

[Is PHP still relevant in 2023?](https://medium.com/accesto/is-php-still-relevant-in-2023-16801dc84700)

**I think you know the answer.**

Exacat has:

[Smooth migration from array to object](https://www.exakat.io/en/smooth-migration-from-array-to-object/)

Laravel News reports on:

[FrankenPHP v1.0 is Here](https://laravel-news.com/frankenphp)

Krzysztof Czereczon asks:

[Are You Using Docker for PHP Development on MacOS? This Article Shows You a Better Alternative — Herd](https://medium.com/@kczereczon/are-you-using-docker-for-php-development-on-macos-cd0bb3b6d75c)

Seliesh Jacob shares:

[Creating and Managing JWT Tokens in PHP](https://medium.com/@selieshjksofficial/creating-and-managing-jwt-tokens-in-php-b6c1fc6c1b46)

### Previous Weeks

Paweł Czyżewski explores:

[PHP Fast(er)CGI Process Manager](https://pawelczyzewski.medium.com/php-fast-er-cgi-process-manager-464fd6d78eb0)

---

## More Programming

Mozilla published the:

[2023 State of Mozilla](https://stateof.mozilla.org/)

**Hey, use Firefox peeps. And Thunderbird too. And the Mozilla VPN.**

XDA shows us:

[How to use GPU in Visual Studio Code](https://www.xda-developers.com/how-use-gpu-visual-studio-code/)

**I would think there are similar strategies with PhpStorm.**

That HTML Blog says:

[The Invokers are Coming. Part II](https://thathtml.blog/2023/12/the-invokers-are-coming-part-ii/)

Smashing Mag is:

[Preparing For Interaction To Next Paint, A New Web Core Vital](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2023/12/preparing-interaction-next-paint-web-core-vital/)

**Like all their articles, this is very useful.**

The shitty browser known as Chrome shares:

[CSS Wrapped: 2023!](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/css-wrapped-2023)

**A look at all the wonderful things that came to CSS this year.**

TechCrunch reports:

[As a new AI-driven coding assistant is launched, the battle for AI-mindshare moves to developers](https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/07/as-a-new-ai-driven-coding-assistant-is-launched-the-battle-for-ai-mindshare-moves-to-developers/)
GitHub shares a case study:

[Upgrading GitHub.com to MySQL 8.0](https://github.blog/2023-12-07-upgrading-github-com-to-mysql-8-0/)

HTMHell continues their advent calendar:

[You don't need JavaScript for that](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/2/)  

**4,569% this!**

[The Form Attribute - Enhancing Form Layout Flexibility](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/3/)

[Back to Basics: 5 HTML attributes for improved accessibility and user experience](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/4/)

[The Hellish History of HTML: An incomplete and personal account](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/5/)

[Web Components FTW!](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/6/)

[Security Headers using meta](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/7/)

**Very informative.**

[The hidden depths of the input element](https://www.htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2023/8/)

**Read this one.**

Scoot Jehl shows us:

[How to Use Responsive HTML Video (...and Audio!)](https://scottjehl.com/posts/using-responsive-video/)

Multiline Comment demonstrates:

[Simple reactivity with custom element attributes](https://multiline.co/mment/2023/12/reactivity-with-attributes/#simple-reactivity-with-custom-element-attributes)

**Witty name.**

CloudFour says:

[HTML Web Components Are Having a Moment](https://cloudfour.com/thinks/html-web-components-are-having-a-moment/)

**Because they are an improvement over web components.**

---

## Fighting for Democracy

[Please visit our Support Ukraine page](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/Support-Ukraine) to learn how you can help kick Russia out of Ukraine (eventually).

### The cyber response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery

The Hacker News reports:

[Russian Hacker Vladimir Dunaev Convicted for Creating TrickBot Malware](https://thehackernews.com/2023/12/russian-hacker-vladimir-dunaev.html)

VentureBeat reports:

[2 clear and consistent paths toward effective, accelerated AI regulation](https://venturebeat.com/ai/2-clear-and-consistent-paths-toward-effective-accelerated-ai-regulation/)

ComputerWorld reports:

[EU lawmakers move closer to finalizing AI Act](https://www.computerworld.com/article/3711563/eu-lawmakers-move-closer-to-finalizing-ai-act.html)

The Verge reports:

[Facebook and Instagram accused of creating a ‘marketplace’ for child predators in new lawsuit](https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/6/23990445/facebook-instagram-meta-lawsuit-child-predators-new-mexico)

The Register reports:

[Five Eyes nations warn Moscow's mates at the Star Blizzard gang have new phishing targets](https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/08/five_eyes_star_blizzard_warning/)

### The Evil Empire Strikes Back

Ars Technica reports:

[Chrome’s next weapon in the War on Ad Blockers: Slower extension updates](https://arstechnica.com/google/2023/12/chromes-next-weapon-in-the-war-on-ad-blockers-slower-extension-updates/)  

**Google's new motto: Money before security and Greed before Don't Be Evil.**

The Guardian reports: 

[Europe’s AI crackdown looks doomed to be felled by Silicon Valley lobbying power](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/02/eu-artificial-intelligence-safety-bill-silicon-valley-lobbying)

**Let's hope not.**

[Reversal of content policies at Alphabet, Meta and X threaten democracy, warn experts](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/dec/07/2024-elections-social-media-content-safety-policies-moderation)

[US police agencies took intelligence directly from IDF, leaked files show](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/08/us-police-agencies-idf-files-blueleaks)

The Register reports:

[US warns Iranian terrorist crew broke into 'multiple' US water facilities](https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/iran_terrorist_us_water_attacks/)

Dark Reading reports:
  
[Iran Threatens Israel's Critical Infrastructure With 'Polonium' Proxy](https://www.darkreading.com/ics-ot-security/iran-threatens-israel-critical-infrastructure-polonium-proxy)

The Hacker News reports:

[Microsoft Warns of Kremlin-Backed APT28 Exploiting Critical Outlook Vulnerability](https://thehackernews.com/2023/12/microsoft-warns-of-kremlin-backed-apt28.html)

Wired reports:

[A Kremlin-Linked Network Used Fake Taylor Swift Quotes to Push Anti-Ukraine Propaganda](https://www.wired.com/story/russia-ukraine-taylor-swift-disinformation/)

In news that surprises no one with a brain, the BBC reports:

[Russia hacking: 'FSB in years-long cyber attacks on UK', says government](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67647548)


### Cybersecurity/Privacy

The Register reports:

[US and EU infosec authorities pen intel-sharing pact](https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/07/cisa_enisa_intel_sharing/)

BleepingComputer reports:

[Atlassian patches critical RCE flaws across multiple products](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/atlassian-patches-critical-rce-flaws-across-multiple-products/)

The Hacker News has more:

[Atlassian Releases Critical Software Fixes to Prevent Remote Code Execution](https://thehackernews.com/2023/12/atlassian-releases-critical-software.html)

Slate reports:

[The Internet Enabled Mass Surveillance. A.I. Will Enable Mass Spying](https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/ai-mass-spying-internet-surveillance.html)

StackDiary reports:

[Vulnerability in Microsoft Edge allows code smuggling](https://stackdiary.com/vulnerability-in-microsoft-edge-allows-code-smuggling/)

**Another reason to use Firefox.**

---

### Fediverse

The Fediverse Report has:

[Last Week in Fediverse – in other news – ep 46](https://fediversereport.com/last-week-in-fediverse-in-other-news-ep-46/)

[Misskey 2023 recap](https://fediversereport.com/misskey-2023-recap/)

[5 years of Mobilizon](https://fediversereport.com/5-years-of-mobilizon/)

Tim Chambers shares:

[A Year End List of Fediverse Development I'm Hopeful for in 2024](https://www.timothychambers.net/2023/12/06/a-year-end.html)

**Great work, Tim.**

Mammoth announces:

[Introducing Mammoth 2: The easiest way quit Twitter/X for good and join Mastodon](https://getmammoth.wordpress.com/2023/12/07/introducing-mammoth-2-the-easiest-way-quit-twitter-x-for-good-and-join-mastodon/)
**It is and if you aren't on Mastodon, check this out.**

Lickability shares a case study:
[Designing Mastodon’s reply safety features](https://lickability.com/blog/designing-mastodons-reply-safety-features/)

Sylkeweb Too explores:

[Testing the Fediverse’s interconnectivity – how it all began or “The Fediverse is more than Mastodon”](https://sylkeweb.com/2023/10/15/testing-the-fediverses-interconnectivity-how-it-all-began-or-the-fediverse-is-more-than-mastodon/)

Joan Westenberg says:

[The block button is the ultimate source of dopamine. Use it.](https://joanwestenberg.medium.com/the-block-button-is-the-ultimate-source-of-dopamine-use-it-78d019dcafea)

Masimatutu opines:

[Mastodon has the responsibility to promote diversity in the Fediverse](https://kbin.social/m/fediverse/p/3386000/Mastodon-has-the-responsibility-to-promote-diversity-in-the-Fediverse)

**They are speaking about platforms and I agree.**

ThatOneKirbyMain2568 responds:

[I've been thinking a bit about this post](https://kbin.social/m/fediverse/p/3414090)

**Hmm. I think solutions can be found, especially for Mastodon's implementation of Activity Pub.**

Ryan Barret is:

[Re-introducing Bridgy Fed](https://snarfed.org/2023-11-27_re-introducing-bridgy-fed)

**As I have said before, I won't federate with Threads on a personal level and I am not sure about Bluesky. But, anything that gets the non-c^nts off Shitter is good with me.**

Red Sweater announces:

[MarsEdit 5.1: Mastodon Support is Here!](https://redsweater.com/blog/4036/marsedit-5-1-mastodon-support-is-here)

**If you are on a Mac and Mastodon, check this out.**

Framasoft has more details on Mobilizon:

[Mobilisation V4 : the maturity stage](https://framablog.org/2023/12/05/mobilisation-v4-the-maturity-stage/)

We Distribute reports:

[After Radio Silence, Kbin App Artemis Shuts Down](https://wedistribute.org/2023/12/artemis-shuts-down/)

Hypha is:

[Announcing Distributed.Press Social Inbox 1.0](https://hypha.coop/dripline/announcing-dp-social-inbox/)

TechCrunch reports:

[Bluesky says it will allow users to opt out of the public web interface after backlash](https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/06/bluesky-says-it-will-allow-users-to-opt-out-of-the-public-web-interface-after-backlash/)


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## Author

![Reuben Walker headshot](https://symfonystation.mobileatom.net/sites/default/files/inline-images/Reuben-Walker-headshot.jpg)

### Reuben Walker

Founder  
Symfony Station