[RESOLVED] Procedural vs Object Orientated

neilmasters

Hi everyone,
for reasons that I can not specify just yet (as it may taint peoples opinions and possible discussions) I am posed with the question:

Procedural PHP vs Object Orientated PHP

And I am sure that you all have your reasoning for your preferred style, which is what I wish to know about.

Thanks to anyone who posts.

Neil

laserlight

I prefer to use a "multi-paradigm" programming style, where each programming paradigm is used to best effect. Consequently, I would ask: what exactly are you trying to do? It may well turn out that say, functional programming is the paradigm that is most appropriate for the task.

jgetner

i as well prefer a multi_paradigm programming style using whats best and cleanest for the job.

i tend to stay more on the OOP side of things as i like the layout and elegance of how classes and methods work together and fits my logic well but they both have there ups and downs.

neilmasters

Thanks for the replies guys.

I am sorry laserlight but I can not answer your question of what I am trying to do(At least not yet) as it pertains to a university thesis. Suffice to say that if I discussed the end goal of the project this may sway your opinion as to the best method of obtaining that goal, which is not what I hope to gain from this thread.

I want peoples opinions in regards to what they prefer, which so far seems to be a multi-paradigm approach which I did not expect, I was expecting the more fluent php'ers to be hardcore towards OO.

NogDog

I would say that it's mainly a matter of scale for me. For any large project, and especially if there are going to be multiple developers, I will more than likely take a mostly OOP approach. But as the project scope gets smaller, and especially if it's just me working on it, I may take a more procedural or even totally procedural approach. Plus, it may also depend to some degree if I find an OOP or procedural 3rd party solution that will fit my needs with just a little modification.

bradgrafelman

neilmasters wrote:
Suffice to say that if I discussed the end goal of the project this may sway your opinion as to the best method of obtaining that goal, which is not what I hope to gain from this thread

Er... isn't that what laserlight is saying, though? Knowing exactly how the project will work should "sway your opinion" as to how you go about coding it.

NogDog

bradgrafelman;10964166 wrote:
Er... isn't that what laserlight is saying, though? Knowing exactly how the project will work should "sway your opinion" as to how you go about coding it.

I took "project" not to mean an application program, but rather some sort of study or analysis concerning software development. But only the OP knows for sure. 😉

jazz_snob

I prefer OOP for this reason: automated testing is easier. I use OO for all but the most trivial of projects for this reason, although because this is PHP there still are some procedural parts in the code at places, inevitably.

At my last job I got to see the "inside" of an ERP program and this particular layer was all procedural. Very complex software developed all w/ procedural code. Also very messy. One method had 48 arguments...I'm not kidding...48. OO has its own "messiness" when you get into big, complicated, real-world examples, so I'm not saying it would be cleaner in the end. It may in fact be harder to wrap your head around an OO solution than it is to just write it procedurally.

Number one rule: Don't repeat yourself. Applies to both procedural and OO.

laserlight

neilmasters wrote:
I am sorry laserlight but I can not answer your question of what I am trying to do(At least not yet) as it pertains to a university thesis.

Ah, so you are doing academic research. So, what do you mean by object oriented PHP? For example, if a PHP script defines classes and instantiates objects, but never ever inherits from a base class or implements an interface, is it object oriented? After all, inheriting from an abstract base class or implementing an interface provide the abstractions that are key to good use of the open-closed principle of object oriented design.

neilmasters wrote:
Suffice to say that if I discussed the end goal of the project this may sway your opinion as to the best method of obtaining that goal, which is not what I hope to gain from this thread.

Suffice to say that a forum thread is wholly inappropriate in such a case. People will read the answers of other respondents, and this may sway their opinion as to the best method of obtaining that goal, which is not what you hope to gain from this thread, yet a discussion is precisely the nature of a forum thread. You should conduct a proper survey instead.

neilmasters

Again thanks guys and gals, your input is appreciated.

laserlight you are right in regards to the survey, which coincidentally is the next step. It is still a few weeks away though and I will be pushing it out to the facebook php group which should garner a very broad spectrum of responses.

This thread is merely a starting point, poking the bear so to speak to see what opinions and reactions would come about. As for peoples opinions and beliefs being swayed by other posters to this thread, you make a valid point(that effectively of peer pressure) however from reading through the replies everyone seems to be sticking to there guns, so for a loose start I am happy with the results.

Gonna mark thread as resolved as I feel weird about continously bumping, but if anyone else wants to give an opinion then feel free.

Neil