10 Tips to Brush up Your PHP Programming Skills
For an average Joe, the very next name come to the web development is PHP development. The more than two decades old technology has garnered much popularity in the web development space that every one out of the two developers before mastering another language, always try to achieve the excellence in the PHP programming.
To do the bug-free coding and speed up the proficiency, novice PHP developers get their hands dirty on learning PHP. But, the minor mistakes impact the code readability and the website’s performance.
The 10 tactics are listed below that enable PHP developers to get prepared for custom PHP development with a great ease.
1) Object oriented programming- the fundamental!
OOP, the most common method of programming that keep the objects and classes together to enable the flawless coding without any replication in a program. Also, the functions once written can be used again anywhere in the PHP programming. This way less coding and less server resources are needed to build the PHP website that’s simple, loads faster and easy to debug.
2) Leverage PHP inbuilt functions
The PHP development company is advancing with the PHP upgrades to build the websites that sync with the market trends. In the race of embracing and creating new functions, overlooking the use of the number of PHP inbuilt functions is not an intelligent decision. For custom PHP development, the range of inbuilt functions and arrays are very beneficial that speed up the coding and makes it easy as well.
For instance: To count the number of keys in an array, instead of writing the code for this, the PHP developers can directly write the function Count() and loop via array to increase a value for each iteration in an automated fashion.
3) Database security cannot be an afterthought
The database contains the crucial data which, if get attacked by the malware, the privacy of the data will remain no more. It stays at the core of the coding. Before you begin to code, employ the practice of using this string- mysql_real_escape_string().
The string ensures the protection of the complete database against any malware or threat that may put a security hole in the database.
Note: Before submitting the data into the database query, make certain that the data is of the right type and value. Also, avoid the use of $_REQUEST.
4) Ternary operators in place of if, else operators
PHP is a descriptive language wherein the ternary operator works best as they concise the code and make it more clean and stripped. However, in some instances, it is analyzed that they create a big mess when something is missed during a code audit. That’s the reason they are more preferred for single statement or prototypes. They have turned out to be best when used in place of usual if and else statement.
5) Database caching- an alternative to boost up performance
Every time, when the request for an object is made from the database, the databases use disk access and network access. When the response is cached, the requests are responded quickly and the overheads of access can be avoided. There are a lot of such database caching options available wherein Memcached top the charts, if the application is distributed across many servers.
Memcached- the distributed memory object caching system alleviates the repetitive work to be done for the same request made number of times. The data loads faster and shoot up the website performance.
6) Remember the numerous frameworks
PHP is packed with the myriad of functions, frameworks, plug-ins and libraries to enable the world-class development tailor-made to the business specific needs. There are so many frameworks like- Yii, Code Igniter, Laravel, Phalcon, Zend, CakePHP, Slim and more that PHP offers leveraging which the PHP developers can easily build the application.
It is worth to use the frameworks, in spite of writing the code in full at your own after spending so much time as it saves you from the overhead expenses. Besides, there are chances that bad code perhaps influences the purpose of the application.
7) Use POST instead of GET
Presently, hackers have become smarter enough that if they got just the address in the URL, then hacking the whole project will not be a big deal for them. GET string is doing the same that makes it a perfect fit for permalinks and pagination, but not for the form submission as it gives a path that can be easily traced by the malware. On the other hand, POST is the best because no one can emulate the development.
8) Create a rough sketch before you code
Once you have understood the project, squarely jumping on the coding is not good as the midway obstacles would become the major headaches for you. The best practice is to create a wire frame that illustrates how you are going to accomplish the coding task. The systematic planning would iron out the problems in advance and you can clear up the issues without any hassle.
9) Beware from SQL injections
Up till, you have learned how to write the neat and clear code that makes the website scale and excel. Simultaneously, safeguarding the application from the unwanted threats is also equally important. SQL injections, XSS, CSRF and pretty more are some of the common security threats to the websites.
The best way to get rid of this malware is to always filter the input and never let the output escape. This fundamental if kept in mind, and then no hacker can create the security breach.
10) Finally, just focus on coding
Now, you have the complete knowledge in hands and the very next step is to try your hands at PHP programming to create the applications that are one-of-a-kind and engages the users. This all comes with practice because learning how to code is of no value unless you write the code in reality. So, just begin…
Epilogue
PHP- the web development technology, though a bit older, but its usage is still skyrocketing. The PHP developers who are in the beginning stages of development would certainly find many roadblocks in the PHP development. That’s where the PHP advanced techniques would help them to write the responsive and clean codes. Get all set to work in the PHP development company by mastering all the PHP programming techniques.
Mr. Michael Waugh is a proficient PHP developer who has more than a decade of experience in the Custom PHP development for the leading companies across the globe. He likes to dig in the depth of the PHP technology to write clean codes that are easy to read and maintain, and build the applications which thrives the end users.
