6 useful tips for PHP Developers

PHP being the most popular web development language, has become the first choice for developers all over the world. There are almost 20 Million domains that use PHP and is being used by Facebook and Wikipedia as well.

Web Developers need to have a working knowledge of PHP. We have listed below some of the most useful tips that will help PHP developers:

Practice OOP

For sustaining in the PHP web development field, it has become important to accept OOP in your coding style. OOP facilitates the reuse of already written codes as and when you need it. With the help of OOP, you will not have to copy codes every time. The best way to reuse code is to use class in which variables and methods are tied together which will be used frequently in further coding. This will reduce the time and efforts to code. When you repeat code, there are increased chances of errors in your code. In procedural programming, a routine is followed from top to bottom of each page as the server reads every file. It will make it easy to identify errors and solve them in your program. OOP is faster, simple to debug and easier. OOP can change your coding style forever.

Stay away from anything ending with _once()

This command is very hard on the server and usage of these kills your server resources, mainly on huge frameworks. If you have done the coding properly, you will not need to use this command.

Use Object Oriented Programming Language

This is the most essential forms that can be used with classes or objects which reduces the need to repeat codes and perform smaller production tasks in a simple manner. Objects are mainly the classes that contain a set of functions and combines them to use again. This eliminates the need to rewrite codes. Proper programming is followed over the entire page as the server reads every single file.

Make use of PHP inbuilt functions

If you want to count the number of keys in an array then the count() function can be used. PHP has several inbuilt functions that make a lot of tasks easier. It is advised to make use of these functions in the best possible manner to make the development easier and according to the guidelines.

Use a PHP framework

Using a PHP framework for web application development will be helpful for every developer. There is a learning curve and a developer needs to read a lot and learn how the API of the frameworks works and this can result in amazing productivity and benefits at a later point. Using a web application development framework forces you to use better web development patterns. Using a PHP web application development framework gives you a standardized platform.

Protect your database

For every developer, protecting their database is of utmost importance. The best way is to use mysql_real_escape_string() for all database before it is added to the database. This function will make all the strings safe in terms of quote and other functions that can harm your database. One more thing you can do is validate all POST and GET strings. Do not use $_REQUEST, and make sure all form submitted data is of the right type and value before adding it to a database query.