Recap 2023 - A Year of Changes and Innovations

Daniel Opitz

06 Dec 2023

The times we are currently living in are characterized by global tensions and changes. Sometimes, it may give you the wrong impression that everything in the world seems to be bad. However, that’s not the case because when you take a moment to reflect on the positive things you have experienced and achieved in the last 12 months, the world suddenly looks very different. As you start, more and more things come to mind, things that may have been covered up by other information from social media and various news channels. I believe that, especially at the end of the year, it’s the best time to appreciate the good and the small wonders of the world and pause for a moment. It’s the time of year when I do all the things I’ve been putting off for a long time or get rid of things I no longer need. This “cleansing process” ensures that I have the energy and motivation for the really important things again. Writing down all these thoughts that otherwise just buzz around in your head is also a kind of liberation and cleansing that I can only warmly recommend to everyone.

One of the most fundamental innovations and changes for me in 2023 was definitely ChatGPT. The chat-based way of solving complex problems with a computer has impressed me and has almost completely replaced Google and StackOverflow for me. There are still exceptions, of course, where I need to use to Google, for example, when I need to search something in the PHP documentation, but otherwise, it has become one of my most useful tools.

I still enjoy writing blog articles, as my blog continues to consistently attract high visitor numbers from all over the world. Interest in PHP remains very high.

I tried to feed my YouTube channel with more content but found that due to niche topics, I could generate relatively few views. The effort to prepare, speak, design, cut, etc., is relatively high compared to the benefits.

In addition to PHP, I continue to work with C# and ASP.NET Core. I feel that the C# language has changed extremely (maybe a bit too much) recently. You can feel that Microsoft is under some competitive pressure from JavaScript/TypeScript and wants to keep up and offer more than everyone else. This sometimes leads to code constructs that are almost incomprehensible now. A return to the language’s original strengths, like simplicity and readability, would be very nice. But that’s how it is when you try to please everyone. Nero Burning ROM was originally a simple and perfect burning software until more and more features were added that made the software unusable.

PHP 🐘 has also evolved significantly, and I’m pleased to see that the new Core Team is doing excellent work. Performance has been improved again, and new truly useful language features have been added. In June 2023, I attended the International PHP Conference 2023 - Berlin in person for the first time since the lockdown. I met nice people from the PHP developer community and brought myself up to date with the latest technology.

For a long time, I was also on vacation abroad, this year again in Tallinn, Estonia. The weather was very nice and warm at that time, which is not a given there. I took walks by the sea and visited a brewery 🍺.

But what I found most exciting were the Pizza 🍕 delivery robots 🤖 that were roaming around the capital city.

On August 12, 2023, I published my 3rd eBook for the Slim Framework. I must say that the feedback from the Slim community has been quite positive so far. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported me in my work.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, good health, and a Happy New Year 2024 🎉🥂✌️🍀.

Daniel