Tips and tricks

[mhalloran]

Over the years, I've learned a bunch of shortcuts that have made programming easier and faster. If everyone that has any tips they'd like to share, please post away. There is always more to learn.

I'll start with a couple that I find usefull...

instead of:
<?
if ($variable==true)  do something;
if ($variable) do something;
?>

instead of:

Hello there <? echo $name;?>
Hello there <?=$name?>


instead of:
<?
if ($is_cool) {
   $personality = "cool";
} else {
   $personality = "not cool";
}

($is_cool) ? $personality="cool" : $personality="not cool";
?>

getting one value from MySQL database:
<?
$username = mysql_result(mysql_query("SELECT username FROM users WHERE id=".$_POST["user_id"]),0);
?>

Those are a few of the things that I picked up since I started programming. Anyone have more to add?

[onion2k]

I'd just like to add that readability is more important than speed when it comes to writing code. Especially if you're going to be the one maintaining it..

[Mordecai]

And I'd like to add that <? is teh sux. (<?php rulz!!!11)

Oh yeah.. and <?= is the evilest of all.

[Weedpacket]

Other threads with this topic:
http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10253168
http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10263634

..oh, I'm sure there are others. G'night.

[mhalloran]

Jeez guys, No need to shoot this thread down like that.

I find this stuff helpful in making cleaner, easier to read code. If you don't find these coding techniques helpful as I and many others do, then don't use them.

[TheDefender]

mhalloran, I think the point they are trying to make is that shortcutting doesn't always produce the best results, and here's why...

Say you are writing a code you are planning on distributing or selling... Well <? ?> may not work, just like <?= ?> may not work, if the Short Tags is off in the php.ini (or whatever it's called) of your intended user, whereas <?php ?> ALWAYS works.

Combining your query and result into one works, but if either has a problme, it may make it difficult to narrow it down to which one until you break it back apart.

Using ?:; can be a good idea if you only have one action in the resultant, but if you are trying to do more with it, the code can be hard to read.

It's like saying use the extract() command to pull your values out of the global arrays. Sure it is quicker, and easier to call a variable $variable after coding extract($POST), rather than calling it $POST['variable'], but it can compromise the security of the site, because you are essentially turning the register globals back on through a function.

Your ideas are fine, but probably not the best ideas to the regs here... (as evidenced by the replies you have gotten thus far).

The biggest thing to remember is to code consistently, use indentions in your if/else's, use a color-coding IDE to script, and don't take it personally when your ideas are shot down...

If your coding works for you, great, share your ideas... Someone may learn something from it (even if it isn't what you meant for them to learn.)

Just ask those guys who freaked out when their Web Hosts upgraded their PHP, and hundreds of people's code failed because register globals was turned off by default in the upgrade. Code smarter, not harder.