Coordinate track development

[mk-mxp]

Here's what we may do next:

• Tracking: Syncing exercises for #48in24 #684
• Ensure deprecated exercises are deprecated #813
• Automatically find un-synchronised exercises that were once synchronised #793
• Take forward the PHP test generator(s)
  • Respect for further development: Discussion: Test generator design #675
  • Creating new exercises: Re-write test generator with templates and unit tests #663
  • Updating existing tests: 🚧 test generator #674
  • Merge both test generator approaches into one CLI
  • Make use of practice exercise scenarios #703
• Tracking: Syncing exercises to problem specifications #628 The test generator may help with that, too.
• Discussion: Use of data providers in test classes #755 Remove the remaining uses of data providers.
• Make Improve syllabus #578 happen and build on that with new concept exercises
• Apply Add prerequisites to Practice Exercises #324 when we have 20 concept exercises and practice exercises are in sync with problem specifications
• Re-work difficulty of the practice exercises and sort them by difficulty in config.json (that determines the order on the website)
• Build better track documentation
  • Track standards Parts: Discussion: Agree and implement CGL #658
  • Rationals behind standards, design decisions and architectural stuff (e.g. ADRs)
  • add PHP specific information to Exercism documentation
  • Put it into directory contribution/documentation
• Remainders of Coordination: Upgrade to PHP 8.1 - 8.3 and PHPUnit 10 #652
  • Use attributes in the tests (experiment with Rector for that).
  • Update test generator to produce attributes not annotations
• Prepare for smooth upgrading to PHP 8.2 - 8.4 and PHPUnit 11 / 12
  • Revert performance workaround in "robot-name" exercise (requires PHPUnit >= 11)
• Tracking: Missing exercises from problem specifications #629 The test generator will help with that.

Suggestions welcome. Discussions should happen in the forum, category Building Exercism. Please mention @mk-mxp and whom it may concern.

I currently dig into Exercism tasks to communicate concrete improvements with GitHub issues and attract other contributors to help.

Things done:

• Merge Overhaul tool usage in CI and for contribution #591 to ease contribution for further developers. @homersimpsons Thanks for kicking that forward.
• Auto format all files with configlet #619 Reformat track files using configlet fmt to enable smooth creation of new exercises.
• Tracking: Test generator MVP #631 Integrate the PHP test generator of @tomasnorre . We are holding it in a sub-directory as a separate composer project, so it is not installed in CI along with the other requirements. Goal is to kickstart new exercises as far as reasonable.
• Tracking: Missing exercises for 48in24 #630 Add the missing practice exercises for #48in24. @homersimpsons announced to do that, but everybody may add one
• Drop windows / macOS from the CI. Check with Erik Schierboom, if we can. PHP is not that much platform specific anymore. And Exercism does not have the real troublesome stuff. Rejected on the forum. MacOS dropped anyways, because it fails too often (auto updates in Homebrew kill PHP installation)
• #48in24: Meetup 2024-08-20 and PHP is a featured language #667 - but we missed the extended goal to have articles / approaches for it.

[tomasnorre]

Is there a discord channel for the PHP maintainers? Would be nice to ask a question there from time to time?

Add the missing practice exercises for #48in24. @homersimpsons announced to do that, but everybody may add one
@homersimpsons do you have any easy exercise that you would like me to give a spin at?

I would prefer something simpler, before jumping into the deep end.

Integrate the PHP test generator of @tomasnorre . I suggest holding it in a new tools/ directory as a separate composer project, so it is not installed in CI along with the other requirements. Goal is to kickstart new exercises as far as reasonable.

Would be happy to do that, but am not able to currently for personal reason.

Upgrade to PHP8.1 - 8.3 and PHPUnit 10 or 11 using attributes in the tests (experiment with Rector for that). Prepare for smooth upgrading to PHP8.2-8.4 and PHPUnit 11 / 12

I can help with that I wanted. I have been using Rector for quite some ears, and even contributed to both the Rector itself and the TYPO3 Rector.