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What I should know about PHP


mikhl

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Hi,

 

I'm just wondering what I should know in PHP to be classed of a good PHP coder. I am wanting to compile a list so I can check off what I know and figure out what I still need to learn.

 

Thanks

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* Know OOP

* Write clean, well-structured code with good documentation/commenting

* Know different ways of solving the same problem

* Avoiding common coding mistakes

* Prevent SQL injections and other vulnerabilities (sanitize user input, etc.)

* Always be open to new technologies and update your code accordingly (clean it from deprecated stuff)

 

Can come up more if you want :)

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OOP - not just the syntax, but the methodology.  If you think that OOP is merely stuffing functions in a class definition, you're doing it wrong.

 

Form handling - sticky forms, how to handle check boxes and radio buttons, how to handle POST data in general, validation/sanitation.

 

Databases - queries, injection prevention, efficiency.

 

Data structures - learn to love arrays, as they're the base of PHP.

 

Script design/organization - well-formed PHP scripts follow a particular pattern.  Jumping in and out of HTML in the middle of a script is a symptom of doing it wrong.  Learn to use templates, learn to separate your concerns, learn the difference between GET and POST and when to use them.

 

File handling - IO, looping through a directory, uploads, etc.

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Hey, thanks for the answers. Some things I am going to brush up on and ensure I can fully utilise and understand.

 

Silkfire, if you can come up with some more I would be very greatful.

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Get good at reading code you didn't write.  You'll never escape having to deal with it, so the faster you can read it and understand it, the more effective of a programmer you'll become.  Plus, you'll pickup a few ideas from other people's code.

 

And good PHP coder's don't look to become good PHP coders.  They look to become good coders, and PHP just becomes a tool that they know how to use.

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