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I want to get some input from experienced PHP developers on how to structure code.

I feel my applications soon get "dirty" and unorganized.

Should I start coding in OO? Should I start using MVC? What about design patterns? What other options are there? How can I organize and structure my application code better (beyond proper indentation and naming)?

Links to resources are welcomed :)

If I decide to start coding using MVC? Should I use any frameworks or just hand code everything? What is your suggestion.

vick
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    `Should I start coding in OO?` .. a thousand times yes! :D – Hamish Nov 22 '10 at 19:48
  • @Hamish: sing it brotha! – DampeS8N Nov 22 '10 at 19:53
  • Although you shouldn't mistake "somehow incorporates objects" for "is well-designed" (also, "good OO design" != "fits the problem", but that's for experts only). –  Nov 22 '10 at 20:05
  • It's called PMVC. And you should start learning where and how to apply OOP *sensefully*. PHP is a hybrid language, and all-OOP code is seldomly well structured. – mario Nov 22 '10 at 20:05

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Instead of worrying about creating something from scratch, I would start by using a framework and extend it with your own widgets. Zend Framework is excellent and has a massive community of support: http://framework.zend.com/

Otherwise, the best book so far I've found about PHP design is called 'Advanced PHP Programming' by George Schlossnagle. It explains patterns and design efficiently better than anywhere else I've seen.

As per comments below, I definitely don't mean to say that you should only learn a framework. It's never good to learn only a framework, but you can learn coding techniques through other peoples' code, like in frameworks/libraries/etc. Attack your learning through every source available (forums, books, code resources) and make an educated decision as to the approach you should be using when taking on a new project.

wajiw
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  • The just released a new version a couple weeks ago, I've had no problems with the docs, and I don't know anyone who's used the Zend project forums for framework discussion. I always look on here or sometimes www.zfforums.com – wajiw Nov 22 '10 at 20:02
  • Indeed, Zend Framework is not something for someone who just started with OOP. – Inga Johansson Nov 22 '10 at 20:09
  • And yeah, it's a good idea to learn how to program OO, but re-inventing the wheel instead of using a library that's been heavily worked on is dumb. There's no absolute best way to do anything in coding. It should be tailored towards the project. – wajiw Nov 22 '10 at 20:10
  • can't I just code MVC style without using a framework? And what is the relation between MVC and OO ? – vick Nov 22 '10 at 20:14
  • Yes you can. MVC is software architechture, and OO is programming focused on Objects which relate to other objects through inheritance and polymorphism. Look up model/view/controller pattern: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model%E2%80%93View%E2%80%93Controller – wajiw Nov 22 '10 at 20:18
  • @wajiw Can you please look into my question and solve me http://stackoverflow.com/q/24078704/2118383 – Vignesh Kumar A Jun 07 '14 at 06:33
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My suggestion : use the Symfony framework at least once, the tutorial will teach you most of the best practices you need to know, and let you organize your code in a good way.

greg0ire
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  • Yes, symfony has become a mature product and, for a new programmer, it has some very valuable instructions about both MVC and OOP structure and design. – Mr Griever Nov 22 '10 at 20:51
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Well for me JAVA is one of the best ways to really see how OOP is done. The way it's done in php is kind of lame. I've seen a couple of well structured maven based projects and I say "WOW" every time I see them again. You should start using the MVC model of coding as it'll make things easy for you to monitor - Controller = pages's logic, Model = page's (sql) data, Viewer = page's template.
Best you could see what I'm talking about at this site http://php-html.net/tutorials/model-view-controller-in-php/ .

tftd
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Take it one step at a time. Download Smarty and get familiar with it. This should give you wonderful warm fuzzy feelings about separation of concerns, and give you some insights into other things to look into.

Matthew Vines
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There is no silver bullet.

It doesn't matter how you start to plan, what matters is that you plan. Start with something basic like MVC and try to find reasons why your app shouldn't be made that way. If you can't find reasons, think about what frameworks might have features you are going to need.

If MVC is going to just add a lot of extra work. Such as if you are going to be doing a lot of complex AJAX or serious multi-level caching, or other reasons. Figure out what kind of system might save you time.

With heavy caching, sometimes basing the whole structure around a cache system can work. Tap into cached strings as templates and you can now alter pre-cached items. Useful for pages that are assembled on the fly iGoogle style.

The solution will come from the problem.

DampeS8N
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  • I do use a lot of AJAX to store and retrieve data from DB,, so you are saying it's tricky to do so with MVC? – vick Nov 22 '10 at 20:07
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I would suggest you try to work with some popular framework. This way you can read clean code and form your style. 'Yii framework' is good enogh as for me. Offcourse, it will be useful to read about design patterns not only for your php skill, but for programming skill in general.

Scorpil
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