The relevant
and popularity of PHP as a server-side programming language will remain intact
in 2018. According to the latest usage statistics posted on several websites,
the latest version of PHP is currently being used by less that 10% of all
websites. Most web developers will switch to PHP 7.x in 2018 to build web
applications that run faster and consume less memory. Likewise, the developers
will execute PHP code through various micro and full-stack web frameworks to
build custom web applications quickly and efficiently according to varied
business requirements. At the same time, the developers will implement a number
of PHP coding best practices to keep the code base clean and the web
application maintainable.
7 PHP Development Best Practices Web Developers Must Implement in 2018
1) Choose
Coding Style according to PHP Framework or Libraries
Web programmers
can format and share PHP code more efficiently by using various coding styles –
PSR-1, PSR-2, PSR-3 and PSR-4. He can use the coding styles interchangeably.
But the latest version of the coding style may not support some of the coding
standard included in the latest version. Also, the coding style followed by
individual PHP frameworks and libraries differ. Some of the PHP web frameworks
and libraries even do not follow the latest coding style. Hence, the developers
need to use the coding style followed by the web framework and libraries used
by the specific project.
2) Manage
Project Dependencies with Composer
It is also
important for web developers to choose the right PHP libraries and manage them
efficiently. The developers can easily manage various PHP libraries and their
dependencies by using a robust dependency manager like Composer. Composer is
designed as an application-level package manager for PHP. It even simplifies
dependency installation and management by providing standard methods. They even
have option to run Composer through a command-line interface, and manage
dependencies by running specific commands.
3) Use PHP
Debug Bar to Debug Code Efficienty
In addition to
writing clean and maintainable code, the PHP programmers also need to find and
repair all errors in the code. They must explore ways to debug the PHP code
efficiently to locate and repair all errors in the code. The PHP developers have
option to choose from a wide range of debugging tools. But they must consider
using PHP Debug Bar to identify the coding errors quickly based on the
profiling information displayed at the bottom of the page. They can even
install PHP Debug Bar without putting extra time and effort. Also, PHP Debug
Bar can be integrated seamlessly with various projects.
4) Explore Ways
to Use Service-Oriented Architecture
Service-oriented
architecture (SOA) helps developers to build websites with services or
functions which can be invoked by clients regardless of the device, operating
system, or programming language. Despite being platform-independent, the
services or functions make web applications deliver richer user experience by
facilitating data translation and improving information flow. There are a
number of PHP web frameworks – Laravel, Yii, Zend and Symfony – that enables web application developers to use SOA. The PHP
developer must use one of the HTTP-centric web frameworks to build web
applications with components that run independently while interacting with each
other seamlessly.
5) Optimize
Database Operations
While writing
PHP code, programmers often ignore the significance of optimizing database
operations. They must optimize database operations while writing code to
improve the PHP application’s speed and performance. The PHP programmers can
easily make the web application consume less memory by closing database
connections in the code. Likewise, they must explore ways to make the
application run faster by not hitting the database frequently. They can write
comprehensive SQL queries to perform common database operations without hitting
the database frequently. At the same time, it is also important to identify and
update the slow SQL queries to make the web application access resources
quickly and smoothly.
6) Opt for JSON
Data Format instead of XML
While writing
web applications in PHP, a programmer has option to choose from two used format
for data exchange – JSON and XML. But he must remember that XML uses more words
than JSON. Also, JSON parses data much faster than XML. The developer can even
accelerate parsing by availing the built-in functions provided by PHP –
json_endcode and json-decode. They can use json-encode function to return the
JSON representation of a value and json-decode to decode a JSON string into a
PHP variable. If a PHP programmer prefers XML to JSON, he must use regular
expressions instead of DOM manipulation for data parsing.
7) Adopt Test
Driven Development through PHPUnit
Unlike
conventional software development practices, test driven development (TDD)
allows developers to write code only after an automated test fails. Hence, it
becomes easier for developers to deliver high quality web applications by
writing readable code and avoiding code duplication. PHP does not provide any
built-in feature to facilitate TDD. But the PHP programmers can easily
implement TDD by using a robust programming-oriented unit testing framework
like PHPUnit. The features provided by PHPUnit will make it easier for
programmers to define and run tests before writing code.
In addition to
implementing these development best practices, it is also important for
developers to pick the right PHP web framework. The full-stack web frameworks
for PHP makes it easier for programmers to build large and complex web
applications by providing several advanced features and tools. But the
additional features provided by the web framework often impact the web
application’s performance and speed. Hence, the PHP
programmers must spend some time in evaluating the pros and cons of individual web
frameworks based on precise needs of each project to build PHP applications
that run faster and deliver richer user experience.
