W. Jason Gilmore (http://www.wjgilmore.com) is author of several bestselling books, including Easy Laravel 5 (http://easylaravelbook.com) and Beginning PHP and MySQL, Fourth Edition (Apress). He's a software developer and consultant who has spent much of the past 17 years helping companies of all sizes build amazing solutions. Recent projects include a Stripe-powered SaaS for the interior design industry, an e-commerce analytics application for a globally recognized publisher, a Linux-powered autonomous environmental monitoring buoy, and a 10,000+ product online store.Over the years Jason has authored nine books on web development, published more than 300 articles within popular publications such as Developer.com, JSMag, and Linux Magazine, and instructed hundreds of students in the United States and Europe. Jason is co-founder of the wildly popular [CodeMash Conference](http://www.codemash.org), the largest multi-day developer event in the Midwest.Away from the keyboard, you'll often find Jason hanging out with his family, hunched over a chess board, and having fun with DIY electronics.