Web developers constantly need to come up with new and innovative means that will hold people’s attention captive. PHP is an open source scripting language that is used widely in the development of websites. Web developers who have only just begun in the industry may find the understanding of PHP a daunting task. However, using PHP is much simpler than what one may perceive. Given below are some tips that Drupal consultants swear by.
1.) Opt for Object Oriented Programming:
The Object Oriented Programming is something that is an innovation and is being used by web developers worldwide. You may not realize it, but this is considered as a powerful tool when it comes to web development. The Object Oriented Programming is the tie up of classes or objects that are similar. This helps to eliminate those codes that are constantly repetitive. This encourages completion of the most basic tasks with ease. Using Object Oriented Programming has a plethora of benefits. The resources available on the server are consumed on a lesser scale and therefore, it encourages speed and helps the work get done faster. There is minimum coding required. All you need to do is understand and familiarize yourself with the basic principles. It helps give your development style a new edge.
2.) Error reporting must always be kept on during the process of web development.
As a rule of thumb, the error reporting should always be turned to E_ALL. This especially holds true in situations where you need to start off with a new project. This reporting mode can be turned off about 10 seconds prior to the production mode. The best part about using this feature is the very simple fact that it can be used to ensure that your coding is free of any errors; both trivial and major. It is important to nip these errors in the bud before they go on to become an issue at a later stage.
3.) Avoid using codes that end in _once():
Any code that ends with _once(), namely include_once() and require_() cause severe problems to the server and essentially the server has not been designed to take that kind of pressure. This is something that is irreversible. This is the principle on which PHP works and therefore, trying to minimise the use of these codes is the best way out, as per Drupal consultants. Using these codes on a larger framework can particularly be of a huge disadvantage. Familiarising yourself with other PHP codes will discourage the use of these types of codes that can harm the server.
4.) Make more use of POST instead of GET:
Although it is hardly possible to replace GET with POST, it wise to make use of POST whenever you get the opportunity. GET makes it excruciatingly simple to hack projects as all the user needs to do is make use of the address bar to add something. POST, on the other hand, is a much safer option and must be mandatorily used when creating submission forms for the simple reason that submission forms contain sensitive and personal information, which can lead to unethical use of information.
The aforementioned tips will guide you as a beginner to design you codes that encourage faster load times and do not burden the server with unnecessary content. Besides, they will also ensure that you create content that is safe to use and will not lead to moral misconduct. With the growing avenues of web development, it is important to familiarise yourself with the various aspects of PHP to ensure maximum development.
Author bio: Nelly Cooper is a web developer and works closely with a team of drupal consultants. He has a professional background in web development and has been contributing to this field for over 10 years. He is also the author of 3 e-books.