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First, I would say don't focus too much (at first) on whether you are coding in OO, but whether or not you are building or structuring your application for readability, scalability, and maintainability. Do you have code that repeats in multiple places? Do you have functions that are too long? Learned to detect code smell and refactor them properly. Once you are developing good programming practice, then start learning what OO and design patterns are all about - and how they will help you design your applications even better.

Laravel is a framework built using OO principles and good design patterns. Because it is a framework providing all the scaffolding, you can quickly build good and maintainable applications without a lot of design and forethought. However, when you are creating a new model or a new controller, you are creating a class. For example, when you create a new Laravel controller extending the base Controller class, you are doing OOP. Of course, that doesn't mean you understand what OO is.

PHP was never designed with OO from the ground up. It was an afterthought and honestly not a very good one. It doesn't force you to think and write in OO. For example, a lot of the base functions and methods are not OO. If you want to understand OOP, I suggest you start with a high-level book and then move on to a true OO programming language that forces you to write and think in OO and nothing else. I am not saying you should abandon PHP/Laravel and switch to a new language, but learn OO with a OO programming language. Once you understand OO, then come back to PHP/Laravel and then you can appreciate what the language provides and what it doesn't in terms of OO.

I highly suggest you read this high-level book first. It is a quick read and you can get an older version for like 25 cents in paperback. It does a really good job explaining what OO is to people who aren't even programmers: https://www.amazon.com/Object-Oriented-Technology-Managers-Taylor-1991-11-06-dp-B01F9FU6OK/dp/B01F9FU6OK/ref=mt_mass_market_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=

Then move on to a OO language like Java or C#. Don't use C, C++, Python, Javascript, or Ruby for this because again, they don't force you to write in OO. The latter ones allow you to write non-OO code, so it won't be as effective trying to learn OO with them. I recommend Java because it is built in OO from the ground up. There are tons of resources, tutorials, books, and videos.

I highly recommend this book to learn both OO and Java. It is an oldie but goodie. I even attended one of the author's design camp a while back: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Java-4th-Bruce-Eckel/dp/0131872486. I am sure there are other great books and resources but I haven't picked up a Java book in a long while.

Good luck and feel free to reach out if you have more questions,

Ben

Feature tests! If you use artisan make:test without the --unit option, it creates a "feature" test instead of a unit test. The docs call these HTTP tests.

Using feature tests you can go "outside in", meaning you can test the outer layers first (acceptance/functional/integration tests), and use those to drive your code and eventually your unit tests. This is also sometimes known as "top down" because the test pyramid has the slower (integration, acceptance, functional) tests at the top, and the faster (unit tests) at the bottom.

Adam does a good job explaining the concept in his Test Driven Laravel course (not linking it because /u/ftiersch already did and they deserve credit!). If you'd like a book rather than a video course, I recommend Growing Object Oriented Software Guided by Tests.

Adam's course is worth far more than he's charging, though, and not only do you learn about testing, but he also refactors in the course and shows a ton of Laravel tools you likely didn't know about.

If for whatever reason you don't want that book or the course, there are some people (myself included) willing to do paid coaching sessions, but really, if you're a pretty seasoned dev, you should be able to read the HTTP test docs I linked earlier and good a pretty good start. Laravel makes testing so easy.

I don't think Laravel is the right direction to be going, honestly. Laravel is great for starting new projects, but it isn't so great if you want it to be just a small part of a larger site.

I suggest you check out the following two books:

Working Effectively with Legacy Code

Modernizing Legacy Applications In PHP

I've read the first one, and can definitely recommend it. The second I haven't read, but it sounds like it may actually be more appropriate to your actual situation, since the first book often assumed that your starting code base is better than what you seem to have.

In college we read Database Design for Mere Mortals, and I thought it was pretty amazing (if a bit dry). Helps I had a great professor though.

https://www.amazon.com/Database-Design-Mere-Mortals-Hands/dp/0321884493

There is not shortcuts to learning this stuff. You have to invest the time :) Yes, the guy in the video talks slowly and does not have the most inspiring of presentations, but it looks like stuff that is really at the core of what (it sounds like) you need to learn. You could also read books to get your head around this. For instance: http://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Database-Systems-6th-Edition/dp/0136086209

Personally I like using MySQL Workbench for drawing up schemas. If you google images of "mysql workbench schemas" you will find many examples. Here's one: http://www.diloc.de/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/wb-review_06.png

I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of the book before it was complete. I have a brief review at http://www.phpstage.com/blog/laravel-up-and-running-review
It offers a different perspective and details on concepts that are often glossed over on laracasts or in the docs. Amazon has it for $33 https://www.amazon.com/Laravel-Running-Framework-Building-Modern/dp/1491936088

I'm currently reading Design Patterns in PHP and Laravel https://www.amazon.es/dp/1484224507/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_s5E6ybSAGK3H6

After that I want to read clean code by uncle Bob.

No problem! I've been reading this one, and it's an awesome resource: http://www.amazon.com/Domain-Driven-Design-Tackling-Complexity-Software/dp/0321125215

Aside from that, Domain-driven design gets occasionally discussed over at http://laracasts.com, and there's a google group specifically for using DDD in php: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/dddinphp

Yes. FWIW, it's a reasonably common thing for creators to feel. A couple book recommendations:

• Art & Fear
  
• The War of Art