{"id":2444,"date":"2025-06-19T08:30:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T14:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abohara.com\/?p=2444"},"modified":"2025-07-15T07:14:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T13:14:37","slug":"from-legacy-code-to-lightning-delivery-how-cursor-ai-helped-me-upgrade-a-forgotten-php-saas-app-in-just-90-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abohara.com\/insights\/from-legacy-code-to-lightning-delivery-how-cursor-ai-helped-me-upgrade-a-forgotten-php-saas-app-in-just-90-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"Cursor AI Helped Me Upgrade a Forgotten SaaS App in 90 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rediscovering an Old Codebase, Thanks to Parental Leave<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As a tech professional and a product leader, my time is often consumed by strategy, roadmaps, and stakeholder alignment. But when I recently started my <strong>Parental Leave<\/strong>\u2014thanks to S&amp;P Global\u2019s truly generous policy\u2014I found myself with something rare: <strong>uninterrupted time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Naturally, I spent most of it with family, soaking in every moment. But I also carved out time to do what I hadn\u2019t done in years: revisit an old side project. You know the type\u2014code that you poured energy into but never launched because\u2026 life happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This particular project was a <strong>web-based SaaS platform for managing online elections<\/strong>\u2014written in <strong>PHP 5.7<\/strong>, coupled with <strong>vanilla HTML<\/strong>, <strong>JavaScript<\/strong>, and a <strong>MySQL<\/strong> backend. It had a clean admin dashboard, a voter portal, and some nifty notification logic. It worked, but it was stuck in a different era. For years, it just sat there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then I discovered <strong>Cursor AI<\/strong>\u2014an AI-powered coding assistant that claimed to \u201cvibe code\u201d with you\u2014and I wondered:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Could it help me modernize this legacy project? Could it understand my messy old code and help me take it further?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spoiler: <strong>It absolutely did.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is Cursor AI and Why It Caught My Attention<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cursor AI is an <strong>AI-native code editor<\/strong> built on top of VS Code. Think of it as <strong>GitHub Copilot meets your codebase<\/strong> with far deeper context. What sets Cursor apart is its ability to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Index your entire codebase<\/strong> for full-context understanding<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Let you <strong>chat with your project like you would with a teammate<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Suggest, refactor, and even write entire new features with accuracy<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operate in \u201c<strong>Max Mode<\/strong>\u201d to intelligently modify large projects<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As someone who\u2019s always curious about the practical applications of AI in product development, I saw this as an opportunity to test its limits\u2014not just through simple examples, but on a <strong>real-world, production-level codebase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1: Onboarding a Legacy Project (PHP 5.7 + MySQL)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After installing Cursor and loading the editor, I pulled in my old election management system\u2014over <strong>40 PHP files<\/strong> structured across models, views, and utility scripts. Here\u2019s what I did to set the stage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Imported the entire codebase<\/strong> into Cursor<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Added a copy of the <strong>SQL schema file<\/strong> to help the AI understand table relationships, field types, and logic flows<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Explained the <strong>basic architecture<\/strong> in a system-level prompt so it knew how features were typically implemented<br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Right away, Cursor began indexing everything. It understood file dependencies, identified utility functions, parsed DB access patterns, and even picked up on naming conventions. It was like onboarding a senior engineer\u2014just way faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2: Upgrading from PHP 5.7 to PHP 8.2<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, I prompted it to review the entire codebase and <strong>migrate it to PHP 8.2<\/strong>. I expected it to give up or break\u2014but to my surprise, it made a solid attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I hit a limitation: <strong>default analysis mode couldn\u2019t process the full 40+ file codebase.<\/strong> That\u2019s when I found <strong>Max Mode<\/strong>\u2014Cursor\u2019s advanced context mode. It unlocked a new level of analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Max Mode enabled, here\u2019s what Cursor AI did:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Identified <strong>deprecated PHP features<\/strong> (e.g., mysql_* functions, outdated constructor syntax, old array practices)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Flagged potential <strong>runtime errors<\/strong> due to strict typing and newer error handling<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Suggested <strong>modern replacements<\/strong> (e.g., switching to mysqli or PDO, using null coalescing operators, arrow functions where applicable)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Proposed better <strong>coding practices<\/strong>, such as:<br>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Splitting large files into manageable modules<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Replacing magic strings with constants<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moving business logic away from view files<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It then asked me to approve changes <strong>file-by-file<\/strong>. After reviewing, I accepted the proposed changes. I ran the app locally\u2014and everything just <strong>worked<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 No broken pages<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 No unexpected errors<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 And the codebase felt\u2026 modern<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3: Adding a Net-New Feature \u2013 \u201cSend Election Results to All Voters\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that I had a functional, upgraded codebase, I decided to challenge Cursor with a new feature request:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udce8 <strong>Automatically send election results to all voters once an election is closed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To give Cursor full context, I tagged:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>existing CRON job<\/strong> that sends reminder emails<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>\u201cView Results\u201d<\/strong> admin page<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Election and Voter database models<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The relevant <strong>JS modal file<\/strong> used across the admin panel for UI prompts<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I then provided natural language instructions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only allow sending results <strong>after election status is \u201cclosed\u201d<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reuse the <strong>branding, layout, and org logo<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Display a <strong>modal confirmation<\/strong> before triggering the send<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add a new <strong>voter-facing page<\/strong> to view the results post-election<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Include a <strong>new CRON job<\/strong> to send the email notifications in a batch process<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Add any <strong>new DB columns<\/strong> if required to support this logic<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Output Was Astonishing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Within minutes, Cursor AI:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Built a <strong>fully responsive election results page<\/strong> for voters<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensured visibility rules matched the election status<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pulled in org-specific branding and dynamic logo assets<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Created a new <strong>cron_send_results.php<\/strong> script<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Added appropriate <strong>logging and retry mechanisms<\/strong> for failed emails<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wrote a <strong>DB migration script<\/strong> to add a results_sent flag<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Integrated everything into the <strong>admin dashboard<\/strong>, including:<br>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Send Results<\/strong> button<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The modal confirmation component<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A status tag that shows if results have been sent to a particular voter<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The final step? <strong>I tested the full flow\u2014and it worked flawlessly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There were just two minor logic bugs in the cron file, which I pointed out\u2014and Cursor fixed them instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Time Spent: Just 1.5 Hours<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>All of this\u2014from onboarding, migration, and new feature development to testing and review\u2014was done in <strong>under 90 minutes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I had:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Migrated from PHP 5.7 \u2192 PHP 8.2<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Added an entire new feature<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Preserved the existing UX structure<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improved code quality along the way<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In a traditional setup, this would\u2019ve taken <strong>2\u20134 weeks<\/strong> across a developer, QA, and release manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What This Means for Developers, PMs, and the Industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>AI won\u2019t replace developers\u2014but it will <strong>fundamentally change how we work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>For Developers:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You become the architect and reviewer\u2014not just the coder<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You spend more time designing, testing, and improving<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You offload the repetitive and boilerplate tasks to AI<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>For Product Teams:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduced cycle time = <strong>faster feature delivery<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More bandwidth to test and iterate on customer feedback<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased ability to prototype and validate ideas<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>For End Users:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>More frequent updates<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fewer bugs and delays<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>More value delivered consistently<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My Takeaway: AI Is the New Pair Programmer\u2014Only Faster and Smarter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We are witnessing a generational shift in how software is developed. AI tools like Cursor AI, GitHub Copilot, and others are <strong>not a threat<\/strong>\u2014they\u2019re an evolution. They don\u2019t remove the need for developers, they <strong>amplify<\/strong> them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I believe teams that <strong>embrace AI as a co-pilot<\/strong> will outpace those that resist it. The real winners will be those who integrate AI into their development lifecycle <strong>without compromising quality, governance, or creativity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your Turn: What Are Your Thoughts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have you tried Cursor AI or similar dev tools?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are you using AI in your development workflow?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do you see this as augmentation or disruption?<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts\u2014comment below or connect with me on LinkedIn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This blog is not sponsored or affiliated with Cursor AI in any way. All opinions are based on my personal experience exploring the tool during my own time. I\u2019m simply sharing this because I was genuinely impressed by what\u2019s possible today with AI-assisted development.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rediscovering an Old Codebase, Thanks to Parental Leave As a tech professional and a product leader, my time is often consumed by strategy, roadmaps, and stakeholder alignment. But when I&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-tools"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How I Used Cursor AI to Modernize and Build New Features in 1.5 Hours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how I revamped an old PHP SaaS app using Cursor AI, upgraded it from PHP 5.7 to 8.2, and built new features\u2014all in 1.5 hours. 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