Bringing Quality into your PHP Development

With over 20 million websites using PHP web development tools, it is undoubtedly among the most popular languages available right now. Popular websites such as Facebook and Wikipedia are currently developed using this platform.

Simply using this tool is not a sure shot way to achieving web development success. As a developer it is important that you know exactly how to leverage its features to bring out a quality finished product in the form of a website. Let’s discuss some of the best ways to optimize PHP web development tools –

1. Optimize your use of PHP Core Functions and Classes

Instead of writing a code from scratch, try to take advantage of the already existing PHO functions and classes which probably already have common codes in place. Go through the manual before you spend time on creating your own functions.

For example, you don’t need to write your own function for something as simple as getting rid of the white space before after a string when you can simply use the trim() function.

2. Sanitize Database information to Save Time

Sanitizing all your data is the easiest way to avoid problems such as SQL injections in the future. First get clarity on what SQL injections really are and how they can affect your application. Also identify the common problems that can occur in your application and go through any one of the many SQL injection attack cheat sheets that are available on the internet.

There are codes that will also ensure that your database is protected against all cross-site scripting attacks against data submitted by users, example comments on blogs, forums etc.

3. Creating an Integrated Master File

It is strongly recommended that as a developer you first work on creating a single master file which consists of all settings as against having all your database connection settings scattered all over the place. It also makes it easier to edit the settings on a later stage, where all you need to do is make your changes on a single file as against on multiple files. This is especially beneficial when developers need to make use of multiple constants and functions through all the scripts.

4. Error Reporting

Do not forget to activate the error reporting feature during the PHP web development stage. While you are working on your application, activate the following functions – error reporting and display errors to keep a constant check on run-time errors and also easily identify the source of these errors.

The quicker you are able to gain insight into a possible error, the easier it will be for you to take care of them. While most developers tend to ignore the warning messages that keep popping up, remember that they are typically an indicator of memory related issues that need immediate attention.

Few other facets of PHP web development that need to be looked into are; making sure that you do not ‘over comment’ the codes of your functions, keep a list of commonly user functions and codes easily accessible to save time, repetition of work, and make use of a good source editor to save some more time. Finally, build a network of other PHP developers with whom you can interact on a regular basis and also exchange and share thousands of already designed functions and codes to facilitate easy web development.