10 Things All PHP Developers Should Know

PHP is not only used as a server side scripting language, but also as a general purpose programming language. In a few days, PHP 7 version will be officially released. At such a point in time, it is essential for developers who are either using PHP on a regular basis, or have just started out with this programming language, to know a few things about it. Here are 10 tips that you just cannot miss out, if you are planning a long term relationship with PHP.

It is essential for every PHP developer to indulge in OOP. If you have not been into it till now, then start off right now. In OOP, you generally use classes or objects to bring together like elements, and remove any need that may arise for repetition. Objects are known to collect a bunch of functions, put them together in such a way that they can be used repetitively without the need to rewrite or repeat the functionality every time you need something. While procedural programming works from top to bottom of the page, OOP works in a way that one or two objects are initially instantiated, which in turn insatiate the remaining objects.

If you are using include() in your script, it will give a warning in case the script fails. In case of require(), you will find that the script provides a fatal error before it fails. But, when you add _once() to either include() or require(), then you are utilizing the server resources unnecessarily. Instead of adding burden to your resources, plan your code properly, so that you don't need to use _once().

When you start PHP development, you need to begin with enabling the error reporting. Turn on E_ALL, and disable it 10 seconds prior to switching to production mode. By enabling the error reporting, you would have an idea of the tiny errors that you might miss out at some point.

Many people claim that frameworks can spoil the hard work you have been performing on developing a PHP script. But, truth is framework can help you perform tedious tasks with ease. With frameworks, you can avoid the bad code, and you will be able to write a more efficient and performing code.

When you want to perform certain tasks, you can look out for the in-built codes and functions that PHP possesses, instead of writing a script to perform this task. Not only, will you be writing an error free code, but also seeking fewer resources.

Most developers get started with the GET function. But, when it is not necessary, and you can make do without GET, try using POST. When it comes to pagination and permalinks, GET is your best bet, but for form submission, you will see that POST is a more secure option.

Getting started with coding directly is not really a good practice. You should ideally wireframe your projects, plan it around, and then start coding. This way you would know where to start, and how to go about with the coding. With this planning, you would actually work through the difficulties that might arise in your path, and figure out ways to negate it.

If you don't understand something, how will you plan working on it? You should understand everything about the project, and then start working on it. This way, you would be able to work it out better, and give a better output.

Only reading and knowing will get you nowhere. You may know how and what to do, but if you don't do it, you will not be able to make it perfect. So, practice coding as much as you can. Live experience on coding will help you perfect your stand.