Good Practices—Writing Large Projects In PHP
Over the past few months I’ve been involved in large PHP projects. I’ve made lots of mistakes–and I’ve learned a lot from each one! I’ve gotten rid of old practices and adopted new and better ones.
There are a few things you should make sure of before you start large projects in PHP. Here’s my little list:)
- It’s best to start off with a stable framework that does almost everything you need right a way. — I learned this the hard way, trying to build a site engine and a social network at the same time:D It’s not a whole lot of fun(unless you have LOTS of time on your hands). You can make your own framework or you can download lots of excellent ones for free!
- Plan Plan Plan and Set Goals! Make sure you plan ahead so you have an idea of what needs to be done and how much work it’s going to take. It’s not enough to have it swimming around in your head. A wise man once said, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”-It’s a good thing to keep in the back of your mind.
- Use the latest versions of stable software.
Using PHP 4 is just going to limit your project. It’s unacceptable to use anything other than the latest version .
- Do It Right The First Time! Doing it right the first time will decrease the chance of stupid bugs later on in the project when you need to focus on other things.
- Decide on the final design/layout after the code is stable. No need fooling around with that stuff while coding. Design after functionality. But of course there needs to be some design, but don’t fully complete the layout until the application is running really well.
- Test Your Code! This can be WAY underdone, and very seldom is it ever overdone! Unless you test every aspect of your code, your application is an accident waiting to happen . So be happy when you find a bug in your code, you saved users from hating you.:) Keep coding an art!
- Choose the Right Database — Finding the right database for your project is important. Is your database widely supported? Can you export from your database? How easy is it to use with your project? The most popular databases are MySQL
and PostgreSQL
, there are other ones that you can look into–I like to stick to PostgreSQL(A.K.A Postgres, pgsql or psql) - Get Beta Testers, Get Feedback! People’s opinions are important. Make sure you listen to the majority! Just don’t go and change a whole tone of code because of one comment one person makes.
- The Right Tools…Try to find the right tools for your project. It’s best to have a local server and an advanced text editor. Ohh, and your command line saves your life:D
- Last but not least: Stay Focused, Have Fun, Learn from Your mistakes.
Long, hard projects can be disheartening at times. Staying focused and not giving up is always somewhat of a challenge. The key is to stay organized and have fun. Focus on what you want to accomplish
instead of how much time or work it’s going to take. In the end you’ll be “Better, faster, stronger” – Kanye West
Hope this helps!Full Frontal movie download


