10 Advanced Tips to Improve Your PHP Programming

A gradual increase is being noted in the number of web application developers switching to PHP 7 to avail an array of new features, along with enhanced speed and reduced memory consumption. They can further take advantage of the robust PHP frameworks and development tools to reduce the amount of time and effort required for building modern web applications. But the programmers still need to focus on the quality and readability of PHP code to maintain and update the web application without putting extra time and effort. Both novice and experienced web developers must keep in mind some simple tips to produce high-quality PHP code.

10 Tips to Improve the Quality of PHP Code

1) Pick the Right Function

While writing PHP code, the developers can accomplish a single task using multiple functions. But the execution speed and resource consumption differ from one function to another. Hence, it is important for the programmers to pick the right function to accomplish the task without affecting the website’s performance. For instance, while determining the length of a string, the programmers must use isset() instead of strlen() as the former makes calls much faster and stays valid regardless of existence of the variable. Likewise, the developers must replace ereg_replace() and preg_replace() with str_replace() to replace strings. But they need to use ereg_replace() and preg_replace() instead of ereg_replace() while using regular expressions.

2) Use Ternary Operators instead of If/Else Statements

It is a common practice among developers to use If/Else statements to execute code conditionally. But the If/Else statement requires programmers to write multiple lines of code. While writing PHP code, the developers can accomplish the usage of If/Else statement by using a ternary operator. The ternary operator further enables programmers to write the code in a single line, and keep the code clean and clutter-free.

3) Cache Most Scripts

On Apache web server, HTML page is served faster than PHP scripts. Also, the web server need to recompile the PHP scripts each time a page is requested, if the scripts are not cached. The developers must choose and install the right PHP caching tool to reduce script compilation time, and improve the application’s performance. They can even consider using a high-performance memory object caching system like memcache to cache maximum scripts and reduce database interactions.

4) Keep Error Reporting on

Often programmers have to put extra time and effort to repair the errors and issues in the PHP code. But the developers can easily produce flawless code by turning the error reporting to E_ALL. Also, they need to ensure that the error reporting option is not turned off till the application moves to production mode. The error reporting option will help developers to identify both minor and major errors in the PHP code almost immediately.

5) Use Single Quotes instead of Double Quotes

PHP allows programmers to write a single line of code using either single quotes (‘) or double quotes (“). But the developers must remember that single quotes speed up execution of loops, and hence boost the PHP’s application’s performance. However, they still have to write the same line of code differently using single or double quotes. They need to make it a practice to print longer lines of information using single quotes instead of double quotes.

6) Use Built-in Functions

PHP enables users to accomplish common tasks by using several built-in functions. The programmers can easily refer to the user manual to gather detailed information about PHP’s built-in functions and their usage. They must use the built-in function to accomplish specific tasks without writing additional code. The built-in functions further help developers to keep the code clean and readable.

7) Pick and Use Relevant Variable Names

PHP allows programmers to declare variables without specifying their types. While writing PHP code, the developers can follow any commonly used naming convention. But the developers must use relevant variable names to make the code readable and reusable. The must pick names that add value and conveys the nature or type of the variable clearly. For instance, they can convey the type of variable through its name. Likewise, the name of the variable can indicate the data it will store.

8) Follow the Same Naming Conventions Consistently

As noted earlier, PHP allows programmers choose from a number of commonly used naming conventions for classes, objects and variables. But the programmers must use the same naming conventions consistently throughout the coding process to make it easier for others to read and understand the code. Likewise, they can also follow the naming convention for files saved in local directories, and choose names that convey the nature and usage of individual files clearly.

9) Add Comments to Each Code Snippet

While developing a PHP web application, the programmers must remember that it may be maintained or managed by other developers. So he needs to make it easier for other developers to manage the software by clearly describing the significance and usage of individual code snippets. The programmers can easily describe the need for a specific code snippet by adding comments. In addition to making the code readable and easy-to-understand, the comments enable different PHP web developers to work on a single project.

10) Pick the Right PHP Framework

Each developer can execute PHP code in two distinct ways. He can either embed the PHP code into HTML or execute the code using PHP frameworks. The developers also have option to choose from many open source PHP frameworks including Symfony, Yii, CakePHP, Laravel, CodeIgniter and Zend. The features and resources provided by these frameworks make it easier for programmers to accomplish common tasks without writing additional code. But the features, functionality and performance of individual PHP frameworks differ. Hence, it is important for developers to pick the right PHP framework based on the requirements of each project.  

In addition to writing high-quality PHP code, the web developers also need to monitor and maintain the code base consistently. When they monitor the code throughout the development process, it becomes easier for programmers to identify the errors in the code and weaker pieces of code. Likewise, they need to use specific tracking tools to evaluate the performance of front-end and back-end off the web application written in PHP.