Author Archives: alankent
Magento 2 REST API Swagger Schema
One of many goals for Magento 2 has been to improve the web-based APIs (REST and SOAP). Well, another cool step forward here has just been made – you can now request a JSON Schema listing all the REST URLs supported by your site. (WSDL files for SOAP APIs are already supported.) Fetching the Schema […]
Sneak Peek: Data Model + Geekyness = Fun
There is some functionality coming along to GitHub soon that I must admit to really looking forward to. It won’t change the world, but it appeals to my geeky side. Rather than my normal flood of words, I used this feature with a bit of PHP script and the DOT drawing engine to produce the following diagrams. So […]
Composer and Connect and Patches! Oh My!
“Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!” – Wizard of Oz. Every so often there is a twitter thread asking how the new Magento Connect is going to work in combination with Composer, extension reviews, and patches. There often feels like there is quite a bit of concern in how this is all going to […]
Request for feedback on Improving Debug Logging in Magento 2
Magento 2 has adopted the standard PSR-3 (Logging), but is it enough? This post explores some simple possible extensions to the Magento 2 logging system to increase its utility. Community feedback welcome! Uses for Logging Logging has traditionally not been used much in Magento. Sure, there is the PHP error log, and some extensions have […]
Creating a New REST Web Service in Magento 2
In this post I work through a working example of how to create a new REST web service in Magento 2. My goal is to show how easy it is define a new RESTful service. The examples start with a simple integers, moves on to arrays, then ends with a more complex data type to […]
Personal Reflections on the Indonesian Ecommerce Market
I recently went to Indonesia to visit some relatives and poked around in the ecommerce space a little while I was there. It was very interesting to see the visible progress in ecommerce within the country since my last trip, although there is also clearly a lot of progress still to be made. This post is […]
The Dreaded 70% and 98% Magento 2 Install Pauses (Quick Note)
You are installing the Magento 2 Merchant Beta (sweet!) with the Luma Store sample data, and the web installer pauses at 70%. Is it dead you wonder? For me, I waited and it got past this step and continued onwards. But then I hit the 98% pause. I waited. I waited a bit longer. Ummm. […]
Launching a New Magento Site? Why not brag a little! (Quick Note)
Are you a launching a new site? Why not share it in the “Showcase Your Site” forum group? Suggested points to mention: The URL! That is, it should be a site that is already live so others can go have a look. If you are a Merchant, feel free to share your aspirations for your […]
Exploring Docker Volumes for Phases of Development
In this blog post I describe a possible Docker based development pipeline. I use building a Magento 2 web site as an example, but the approach is equally valid for any web site. The following draws together several Docker usage patterns in use today. Development Development occurs on your desktop or laptop (not in production!). […]
Webhooks in Magento 2
This post explores a short term approach for implementing a webhook in Magento 2. Better support for webhooks is on the backlog, but currently not guaranteed for Magento 2 GA. So what is a webhook? Put simply, it is when software can be configured to send a HTTP request to a configurable destination (URL) when […]
Alan Kent's Blog 