New-Some Outstanding Practices for dynamic PHP Application Development

The wide-spread and popular scripting language, PHP is perfect for web-based applications. With this server –side language, PHP code does not get performed on the client requesting service, but rather on the server from where the page is requested.

The wide-spread and popular scripting language, PHP is perfect for web-based applications. With this server –side language, PHP code does not get performed on the client requesting service, but rather on the server from where the page is requested.

16 Top Practices will help you have a perfect PHP script:

1. Ideal Documentation and Indentation

It is much handy to embed meaningful comments in your code. It is for your reference after some time, as well as for another PHP developer who might need to understand your code. In the same fashion, a perfectly indented code has it pleasant and easy read. The use of line feeds, whitespaces, and restricting the code to 80 characters per line is preferred. The use of Tab should be neglected.

2. Adhere to Coding Norms

If a number of coders are working on parts of a combined project, then it is essential to follow similar coding guidelines and standards to get consolidated alliance.

3. Significant Naming Convention

Adhere to companies or web suggested naming conventions for variable and function names and if not, originate your own and stick to it. Meaningful and grammatically sensible names should be used and this indicates the targeted use of the variable or function.

4. Never User Short Tags

Programmers use short tags due to a number of reasons to get their code up and running. It offers an improper look to your code and is bet neglected.

5. Competent Programming – Having It Right

Try to skip numerous nested loops, since this can make the development quite intricate and inclined to errors. Moreover, it could be a debugger’s awful experience to read the apparently infinite spools of execution loops.

6. Do not forget to use Single Quotes in Array Indexes

Within array indexes any unquoted strings will be treated as constants by the PHP interpreter, which may incorrectly auto-define them. No immediate errors will be reflected, but this will hamper proper execution, and may be tricky to debug afterwards.

7. Turn on Error Reporting

PHP provides strong error reporting by the use of options like ‘E_ALL’, which will omit critical errors and warnings. Such errors may be functionality or performance based and may otherwise go unnoticed.

8. Try New Technique Called DRY

Dry means Do Not Repeat Yourself and this is a famous coding concept to ensure there is no unnecessary code.

9. Do Not Place phpInfo () Function At Web Root

The phpInfo() function is very usable if anyone need to get the details of your server, but can be hazardous if it is accessible to the user, and more particularly to potential hackers.

10. Never Rely on the User

By having efficient validations and checks on user inputs, you can protect your application from hackers. Sensitive input variables to some default junk value as well as provision for the same in your code can be initialized by you, thus any intentional and unintentional misuse can be averted.

11. The User of Extra Copy-Variables Should Be Avoided

The storage and performance competence of your code will be hit severely of you copy pre-defined variables into local unnecessarily.

12. Leverage Frameworks

Leverage Frameworks are the results of detailed research and offer readymade solutions for generic problems that one might face.

13. Implement IDE and PHP Manual

The Integrated Development Environment (IDE) offers the sole platform to write, edit, execute, and debug your code using a friendly interface. It offers smooth navigation, syntax highlighting and documentation that can help in writing more legible and error-prone codes.

14. Use OOPS Concepts

With having the OOPs, concepts backed by PHP 4 and 5 onwards, you can write organized , modular, reusable, easily debug able and flexible code.

15. Encrypt Code

Sensitive information like passwords should not be used directly. In place of that encryption algorithm is used to get them converted before storing or using them in your program.

16. Connect with PHP Developers Forums

One of the effective ways to give an advance touch to your skills is to look for instant solutions to the problems you have. You can lean from other to have an active participation in forums with the involvement of other PHP programmers and specialists.