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Users and Permissions - Groups, Users, Sudo, Files

This video is part of the Linux Crash Course series. This video will cover user management features.

Github Repo: https://github.com/rcravens/linux-crash-course

Using EJS Templates

EJS (Embedded JavaScript) is one of the simplest ways to generate dynamic HTML on the server — without the chaos of string concatenation. 💡

In this episode, we’ll walk through how to:
✅ Install and configure EJS in a Node.js project
✅ Embed JavaScript directly inside HTML templates
✅ Use loops and conditionals for dynamic content
✅ Render full pages from data
✅ Create reusable layouts and partials for cleaner structure

By the end, you’ll know how to serve fully rendered HTML from your Node.js server using EJS — the perfect first step toward clean, maintainable server-side rendering (SSR).

💡 Relevant Links

Previous TekCasts series:
- JavaScript for Beginners: https://tekcasts.com/play/javascript-for-beginners-what-is-javascript
- JavaScript in the Browser: https://tekcasts.com/play/javascript-in-the-browser-browser-runtime-environment

Official Docs & Resources:
- EJS Docs: https://ejs.co/
- Node.js Documentation: https://nodejs.org/en/docs/
- MDN JavaScript Guide: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript

Validation Errors

Welcome back to Laravel: The Pragmatic Way!

In this episode, we build on our Form Request workflow and focus on how Laravel handles validation errors — and how you can present them cleanly in your UI.

We walk through the full flow: triggering errors, displaying them, styling them, and customizing their messages.

🎯 What You’ll Learn
- How Laravel automatically redirects back with validation errors
- Displaying all errors at the top of the page
- Field-specific error messages using Blade directives
- Highlighting invalid fields for better UX
- Creating custom error messages inside your Form Request
- Updating question components to surface validation issues cleanly

If you’re enjoying the series, hit 👍 Like, 🔔 Subscribe, and share with other Laravel devs!

💥 About the Series:
Pragmatic Laravel focuses on building real applications with Laravel — emphasizing clarity, maintainability, and thoughtful design decisions instead of shortcuts or magic.

Validation Improvements

Your form validation just got smarter 💪

We’ve built forms, validated input, and handled errors… but what if we could preserve user data, show field-specific messages, and make validation feel seamless? ⚡️

👉 In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

🧠 Use sessions to persist form data across redirects
💬 Display inline validation errors with EJS helpers
⚙️ Implement a back() method for clean redirects
✨ Create a smoother, stateful user experience — no frameworks required

By the end, your Node.js app will remember what users entered, show precise errors, and feel more interactive 🔥

💡 Relevant Links

Previous TekCasts series:
- JavaScript for Beginners: https://tekcasts.com/play/javascript-for-beginners-what-is-javascript
- JavaScript in the Browser: https://tekcasts.com/play/javascript-in-the-browser-browser-runtime-environment

Libraries mentioned:
- Node.js HTTP: https://nodejs.org/api/http.html
- Node.js Path: https://nodejs.org/api/path.html
- EJS Templates: https://ejs.co/

Validation Rules Engine

In this video, we introduce server-side validation to ensure incoming survey data is complete, well-formed, and secure. You’ll learn how Laravel’s validation layer works, how to define rules, and how to prepare your app to handle different question types with a rule engine.

Topics Covered:
🔍 What validation is and why it matters
🌐 Client-side vs. server-side validation
🛡️ Laravel’s built-in validation features
🧩 Introducing rules for each survey question type
⚙️ Building a rule engine to encapsulate validation logic
📦 Aggregating validation rules for a full survey
✔️ Validating incoming user input

📚 Resources
- Laravel Validation Docs: https://laravel.com/docs/12.x/validation

💥 About the Series:
Pragmatic Laravel focuses on building real applications with Laravel — emphasizing clarity, maintainability, and thoughtful design decisions instead of shortcuts or magic.

#Laravel #PHP #WebDevelopment #FullStack #Validation #DataIntegrity #Programming #SurveyApp #TekCasts

Variables & Data Types

In this episode, we’ll dive into the foundation of any programming language: variables and data types! Mastering these early will make everything you do in JavaScript much easier and more powerful. 🚀

🎯 Here’s what we’ll cover:
• Understand what a variable is: a container for storing data.
• Learn how to declare variables using let and const — and briefly touch on var as older legacy syntax.
• Explore primitive data types in JavaScript: strings, numbers, booleans, null, and undefined.
• Use typeof to inspect and understand the type of any value.
• Follow best practices with naming conventions like camelCase and choosing clear, descriptive names.

🎥 Visual Walkthroughs:
• See real examples of variable declarations and data types in action.
• Inspect types live using the console to build intuition.
• Highlight common quirks (like why null shows up as “object”!).

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a strong grip on creating variables and recognizing the key types of data in JavaScript! 💥

View Infrastructure

It’s time to level up our view system! In this video, we refactor our simple view() helper into a flexible View class, giving us cleaner, more expressive control over how pages are rendered. ✨

Here’s what we’ll do:
• Create the app/Framework directory to hold core infrastructure 🗂️
• Build the View class to support a fluent, chainable syntax for setting views, layouts, data, and page titles 🔧
• Add support for setting a custom page title directly in the view pipeline 🏷️
• Update controller classes to return View instances instead of using the old helper 🔄
• Refactor the load_route function and index.php to support the new view rendering flow 🔁

By the end, we’ll arrive at version v9-view-infrastructure—a modern, powerful view layer that keeps your code clean, expressive, and easy to maintain. 🚀

What is a "Smart Garage Door"?

Ever left the house and thought… “Wait, did I close the garage door?” 😬 You’re not alone — and that’s exactly the problem we solve in this video!

In this first episode, we break down what makes a garage door smart — including:

✅ Real-time door position detection
✅ Remote open/close functionality
✅ Integration with Apple’s Home app for sleek iPhone control 📱🍏
✅ Notifications and remote access via Apple Home Hub 🌐📬

You’ll also get a full demo of the final product in action — showing exactly how these features come together in a seamless smart home experience.

📂 Resources mentioned:
🔗 Project GitHub Repo: rcravens/esp32_smart_garage_door
🔗 HomeSpan (Apple Home integration): HomeSpan/HomeSpan

Whether you’re into DIY home automation or just love cool projects, this series is for you. Let’s get started! 🚀

What Is JavaScript?

Welcome to the series! 🎉 In this first episode, we kick things off by answering the big question: What even is JavaScript? 🧠

You’ve probably already seen it in action today—on a shopping cart, a weather widget, maybe even a chat box. JavaScript is the secret sauce behind interactive websites, and in this video, we’ll explore:

🌐 A quick peek into its wild history
🖥️ Where it runs (spoiler: not just in your browser!)
⚙️ What it actually does for web pages and applications
📚 What to expect from the rest of this hands-on, no-fluff series

We’ll even check out a tiny bit of code that creates a button ✨ and responds to a click with an alert—just to show how easy it is to bring pages to life.

Let’s set the foundation for your JavaScript journey. 💪

Why OOP?

Ever felt like your PHP code is a tangled mess of functions, impossible to scale, and a nightmare to maintain? You’re not alone! In this kickoff episode, we dive into why Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a game-changer and how it solves common problems found in procedural PHP.

We’ll break down the downsides of functional programming—spaghetti code 🍝, duplicated logic 🔁, and function name collisions 💥—and compare it to the structured, reusable, and scalable world of OOP. Through a tabletop comparison, we’ll introduce key OOP concepts like encapsulation, inheritance, and modular design, setting the foundation for everything to come.

By the end of this video, you’ll understand why OOP isn’t just a fancy buzzword—it’s a smarter way to write PHP! 💡🔥

Why PHP?

Kicking off our PHP for Beginners series, this video takes you on a deep dive into the world of PHP. From its origins to its modern-day relevance, we’ll explore how PHP has shaped the web—powering everything from WordPress to robust frameworks and libraries. But why do some developers swear by it while others steer clear? We’ll break down the pros, the cons, and why PHP continues to be a powerhouse in web development today. Whether you’re a complete beginner or just curious about PHP’s place in the tech world, this video is the perfect starting point!

Why Templates?

Static HTML can only take you so far. In this episode, we explore why Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and templates are essential for building dynamic web applications.

We’ll look at how to generate HTML dynamically using JavaScript, what makes manual templating so painful, and why templating engines like EJS are the next logical step.


💡 You’ll Learn

- The difference between Static HTML and Server-Side Rendering (SSR)
- Benefits of dynamic content in web apps
- How to manually render HTML from JavaScript data
- The drawbacks of manual templating
- Why separating data from layout improves maintainability


💡 Relevant Links

Previous TekCasts series:
- JavaScript for Beginners: https://tekcasts.com/play/javascript-for-beginners-what-is-javascript
- JavaScript in the Browser: https://tekcasts.com/play/javascript-in-the-browser-browser-runtime-environment


Resources mentioned:
- Node.js: https://nodejs.org
- TailwindCSS: https://tailwindcss.com
- PrismJS: https://prismjs.com

WiFi Configuration & Pairing

In the final episode of the series, we bring the Smart Garage Door into the real world! 🌎🚪

I start by sharing photos from my personal installation — giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how the hardware fits into a real garage setup 🧰📸.

Then we dive into a smart and secure feature:
🔄 Using the Device Control Button, we toggle the ESP32 into WiFi Access Point mode — allowing you to configure your network’s SSID and password directly from your phone or laptop. No code changes. No hardcoded passwords. No re-flashing. 🔥

This makes the device portable, secure, and easy to set up on any WiFi network.

Finally, I walk through the Apple Home pairing process using HomeSpan and HomeKit. Once paired, your Smart Garage Door shows up in the Home app — fully functional, remotely accessible, and notification-ready 🏠🍏📱.

This is the last piece that turns a DIY project into a polished smart home device. Let’s connect it all! 🔗🚀

Working with Forms and User Input

Forms are the heartbeat of the web—from login screens to checkout flows, they’re where users and apps truly connect. In this video, we’ll master how to capture, validate, and process user input like a pro.

Here’s what you’ll unlock:
🔑 Accessing form elements (value, checked, selectedIndex) with ease
🚫 Preventing the dreaded page reload on submit
✅ Adding basic validation (required fields, patterns, matching passwords)
⚡ Real-time feedback with input and change events
🛠️ A full login form handler demo—from data collection ➡️ validation ➡️ simulated submission

Along the way you’ll see:
💡 How to use the FormData API for cleaner code
💡 How to provide instant, user-friendly error messages
💡 Why client-side validation is helpful—but server-side validation is essential

By the end, you won’t just build forms… you’ll craft smooth, resilient user experiences that your users will love ❤️

👉 Watch now and take your form handling skills to the next level!

Writing Tests with PEST

Time to make sure our package works as expected! ✅ In this video, we introduce PEST, a powerful and elegant testing framework for PHP. We’ll write automated tests to ensure our package behaves correctly.

📌 What you’ll learn:
✅ Installing and setting up PEST
✅ Writing unit tests for our package
✅ Running and analyzing test results

🚀 Why test? Because a well-tested package is a reliable package!

🔔 Subscribe for more PHP content!

🔗 Resources:
• PEST Documentation