Frustrated by Magento? Then you’ll love
The short version: I’ve started a Patreon. Donating will help me take on less consulting projects, giving me more time to write, which means I can start diving into the new features of Magento 2.
You should donate. If you can’t donate, you should get your manager to donate. If your manager can’t donate, you and your manager should get your company to donate. Base level rewards includes my helping you through your Magento programming problems, and higher level rewards get you early access to content.
The Long Version
I’ve been writing Magento 2 articles for 11 months now, starting with the first article in the Object Manager series. I feel, more or less, that I’ve covered the basics that a PHP MVC developer would need to get started with Magento 2.
In other words, I’ve laid the foundation for the real work to begin.
Magento 2’s code base is huge, sprawling, and contains more independent systems than Magento 1. Magento Inc. has done a decent job of documenting features that in-enterprise developers are interested in. However, there’s not a lot of information on module development, and the module topics that do exist have been following what I’ve written here. Module development is what sets Magento apart from the competition, but there’s above-our-pay-grade reasons that the dev docs team doesn’t have the resources it needs to document these features.
Off the top of my head, things that need way more attention
- Changes to the Layout DSL
- Implementation details of the API features
- Backend Grids and UI forms
- System Configuration UI
- Widget UI
- KnockoutJS usage and Architecture
- Configuration Loading and Reading
- How to Use Magento’s Test Harness
- Magento’s Area Feature
- Repositories, Collections, and the Pitfalls of Each
- Full Coverage of the New Migration System
I want to document these features, but good documentation takes time. While I’m more fortunate than most folks living in the US, I’m still working for a living. Without an additional revenue stream technical consulting is what’s going to pay my bills. (Need a PHP or Magento consultant? Get in touch!)
I would, however, like to consult less and write/teach more. Most business folks I’ve talked to have urged me to start some sort of screencast style business. That’s one option, and certainly something that’s within my power/abilities to do.
So why a Patreon instead of a screencast business? Because this information needs to be out in the open, and not locked up behind a paywall. If Magento 2’s going to be a useful platform outside of large corporate enterprises, programmers need to find freely provided information to get started. A Patreon gives me the flexibility to do that.
Benefits of Donating
I know everyone’s asking for these sorts of donations, and I don’t ask lightly. I honestly think this is the best way to get this vital developer and programmer information out there. Beyond helping me, and beyond keeping the spice Magento 2 information flowing, there are tangible benefits for you.
All supporters get access to a private “Office Hours” Slack where I’ll help you work through your Magento 1 and Magento 2 questions. Higher level patrons will get early, sometimes exclusive, access to content. The highest level patrons have direct influence over the topics I’ll cover. You can read all about the rewards over on the Patreon page.
I’ll leave it there, and we’ll be back to the technical content next week. If you have any questions, or run into any problems with the Patreon, please let me know here, or via Twitter.