Coding standards

[Shrike]

function or Function...// or /*...do or while...yes...it's another time waster 😃

I have (loosely) established a coding standard. At least I think I have. When I can remember what it is.

/**
*  I would use PHPDoc
*  if I wrote comments like this
*  all the time, but I
*  don't.
*/
class ClassName {
  var $variable_name;
  function className(){
    while($is > $do){
      ++$because;
    }
  }
}

What do you do?...And why? 🙂

[tekky]

I try and do what would be most efficient if I happen to know what would save time/resources.... (and go for least code typed if possible) -- isnt that what most people aim for? 😕

I use while() for DB rows, or if the conditional is based on a number ie

$count = sizeof($array);
while($i < $count)
  echo $array[$i];

that instead of a for() -- in other things I work with I know for is more intensive than while, dunno for sure on PHP but if I learn otherwise for PHP, I'll change how i approach PHP projects then 😛

I use single line statments where possible (not
if (bleh = blah) { this is on one line still; } )

I try and keep repetive calls that result in the same value out of loops (ie, the sizeof() above)

with comments....

//if it pertains to only one line.... i use //
/*
 * otherwise I use this format
 * and generally make it look nice
 * at the expense of a few bytes in
 * filesizes... but I rarely use large
 * blocks like this in PHP
 */

I pay attention to strings.... ie 'this' vs "that" when echo'ing, no need to use "double quotes" if no variables need parsing... even then I generally use 'single quotes' and concatentate....

[Moonglobe]

oh please, there are so many of these.. i use my style and it probably wont suit other people because they want their code to look a diferent way. that's all i have to say.

[tekky]

Originally posted by Moonglobe
oh please, there are so many of these.. i use my style and it probably wont suit other people because they want their code to look a diferent way. that's all i have to say.

bah you failed to waste enough of my time Moon 😃

[dalecosp]

I find a couple of things about my coding. (Heh, tekky...I'll waste some, don't you know...)

My coding is in a continual state of metamorphosis. I don't know when I will deem that I have "arrived". Probably I'll have to sit down and write my own stylebook, and then beat myself up if I don't use it.

One example: as I've gained more experience, I went from:

echo "<tr>\n<td>\n<font color=red>$foo is the bar variable!</td>\n</tr>\n</br>\n</font>";

to

<tr>
     <td>
          <font color=red><?=$foo; ?> is the bar variable!</font>
     </td>
</tr>

and now I tend to just open the echo() and run the quote over as many lines as necessary to get the formatting right. The HTML is better looking that way.

For comments:

//single line comment, usually ... then there's

################################
#                           #
# DALECOSP'S BIG COOL SCRIPT  #
#    some instructions here   #
################################

And / ... / is either for debugging or setting off quotes from "describe <tablename>" in MySQL ...

while(), but never do(). Often use for and foreach. Never return a value when an array can be returned instead. Closing brackets line up with their "if" or their "else"....

And lately I'm doing this crazy "No HTML functional programming" stuff where I've written functions for all my HTML, so it kinda looks like big blocks of FORTRAN :rolleyes:

I'll never grow up, I suppose....

[Weedpacket]

Half the time I find comments just confuse matters. I read the source code.

[Merve]

Who actually does use the do..while loop?

[laserlight]

Originally posted by Merve
Who actually does use the do..while loop?

Occasionally, in C++, but never in PHP.

Though even then, I tend to use

for (;;) {
	//some stuff
	if ([i]condition[/i])
		break;
}

instead of

do {
	//some stuff
} while ([i]condition[/i]);

so that I can have variables involved in condition be local to that loop.

[Merve]

I've seen the do..while loop's use in C++. The do..while seems to exist in PHP only to be similar to C.

[laserlight]

The do..while seems to exist in PHP only to be similar to C

Cant seem to find goto in PHP though.

I wonder why :p

[tekky]

Originally posted by Merve
I've seen the do..while loop's use in C++. The do..while seems to exist in PHP only to be similar to C.

do while, I would use if an iteration had to occur ATLEAST once no matter what

for.... and while could be none or more.... so I use em if the prior need for atleast one shot doesn't exist (which is quite likely)

[Moonglobe]

i actually find do..while(0) quite useful, i.e:

do
{
    //some conditions, if true, break;

//some code that can only be run if the
//conditions were all false
} while (0);

[laserlight]

um, but Moonglobe, it would be better to structure your code as:

if (/* all conditions false*/)
{
	//some code that can only be run if the
	//conditions were all false
}

[dalecosp]

Originally posted by laserlight
um, but Moonglobe, it would be better to structure your code as:

One reason for this, as it occurs to me, is that it allows those of us who never "do ... while" to grok the source a little quicker (i.e., at first glance instead of 2nd/3rd)....

Of course, if we demand or expect something like this ... then we are asking for a "standard", right? Gr#*%(&^! I wasn't trying to be so "on topic" ! 😃

[Moonglobe]

there are a couple of intricacies that have required it before - i know what you mean though, but i find the source much easier to read if i keep the number of parentheses down, and i really hate relying on operator precedence.

[Merve]

As I stated earlier, I have seen how do..while can be used in C++. However, I think that if the do..while construct were removed from PHP, it wouldn't cause too much grief...(not that I want it to be removed...)

[laserlight]

It would cause a fair bit of grief among newbies, I think.

I havent actually gone to check, but I believe that a number of PHP books for newbies advocate using
mysql_fetch_array()
to check that at least one record has been fetched (when using mysql, at least)
then they use the do while construct for the rest of the loop.

[Weedpacket]

Originally posted by laserlight
...using
mysql_fetch_array()
to check that at least one record has been fetched (when using mysql, at least)
then they use the do while construct for the rest of the loop.

I have one word to say about that: Eeeeewwww.....

[AstroTeg]

One thing I've seen done (and it was posted here) was something like this:

[condition loop: for/foreach/while/do/etc]
{

...
[some code]

if([condition is true])
break

...

}

[end of loop]

I know full well there's always going to be circumstances for a break. But in this configuration, where you have a conditional loop and then insert another condition with a break, this is rather poor design. Typically, you should be able to rewrite that condition within the conditional loop's parameters. Or at least rework how your looping is done. In its current form, this is rather sloppy and makes for difficult reading and/or troubleshooting.

Granted, there's always exceptions, but from what I've seen, most cases can be rewritten.

As for the do while loop, its not something I use every day, but things like socket listening and socket shutdown can be done very easily with do while. I'd agree about the MySQL example, yuck.

As for programming styles, you will want to use the style you find easy to read and maintain. If you're working for a company, then the style your boss uses or the company dictates is the style you use (regardless if you're is better or not).

[laserlight]

Granted, there's always exceptions, but from what I've seen, most cases can be rewritten.

More likely, all cases can be re-written, but in some cases the normally less preferable method can be easier to read, or faster.

Ah well, is anyone willing to track down those authors who introduced that to poor newbies?