How to keep PHP coding standards using Git

In the work environment of web developers, many disciplined teams keep awesome code in their repositories. In the same way, some start coding PHP without knowing the right standards and precautions. Recently, it’s become more important since dev communities are growing, and collaboration plays a crucial role in remote development teams. So, we need to facilitate PHP coding standards for others to achieve high-quality code.

It’s true; we might have all been in a position where we all want the code to work. But, as a code writer, it is very important to keep it simple, clean, and, foremost, organized. So, let’s review some of the best practices for coding PHP.

Table of contents

• How to keep PHP coding standards using Git
• PSR1 and PSR2
• PHP Coding Standards Configuration
• Apply PSR1 and PSR2 with my Git Webhook
• How does it work?

I’ll be focusing on PHP this time since it’s the one I started to use without knowing about PHP coding standards. Naturally, I used to code without them and realized the huge difference in saving time and avoiding simple mistakes.

Although PHP has never truly had a uniform standard for writing code; there is a community called FriendsOfPHP that focuses on keeping standards up to date and facilitate coding activities.

This time I’ll talk about PHP-CS-Fixer, this tool has made my day-to-day much simpler. It is well known in the PHP developer community, but no one talks about how to configure it, and when they do, it is too long and complicated. In this blog, I want to share how to do it easily. Keep reading and discover step by step how to configure your PSR standards automatically with a simple “commit.”

PHP vs Node.js: Read the full comparison.

PSR1 and PSR2

Both are coding standards used to maintain a consistent style, such as good readability and maintainability so that debugging, modifying, or adding new features is much more comfortable for the developer.

In this case, we’ll deal only with the standards without digging into the implementation of some of the design patterns and other good coding practices that require a high knowledge of the pattern used.

Before continuing, we have to make clear that this is a supportive tool for fixing small mistakes or creating the habit of following the standards. So take care that your team continues practicing and that this does not generate a dependency on them.

PHP Coding Standards Configuration

I made a script using a Git Webhook that configures the tool, making it unnecessary to make configurations or perform additional commands; after the installation, you have to “commit” your changes as you have done so far.

It works great for projects like Symfony, Laravel, and CI, to mention a few. All of them use these standards, and you can apply them to other projects, even if they are not based on any framework and must follow the standard.

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Apply PSR1 and PSR2 with my Git Webhook

1. Execute the following command in your terminal:
git clone https://github.com/AgusRdz/php-fixer-pre-commit

This folder contains 3 essential files:
– installer.sh: If you like, you can check the configuration process in detail before running them.
– config-rules.dist: This is the rule file to carry out the standardization with PSR1 and PSR2.
– pre-commit: Instructions that will be executed to validate and apply the rules before the end of the commit.

2. Access the folder with:

cd php-fixer-pre-commit

3. Execute the installer.sh file as superuser

sudo bash installer.sh

4. Access the repository you want to apply these standards, for example:

cd ~/Documents/Projects/my-awesome-project-php git init #if it has not been initialized

5. Execute the following command

pre-commit-init

How does it work?

Before the commit, we can have code like the following:

< ?php namespace App;use XDependency;use ADependency;use YDependency;use BDependency; class MyClass{  public function CalculatePrice () {      $a = 9 ;     $b= 10 ;   return $a + $b;  }	}?>

And then, the code will be applied to PSR1 and PSR2, having a code like the following.

< ?php namespace App; use ADependency;use BDependency;use XDependency;use YDependency; class MyClass{    public function CalculatePrice()    {        $a = 9;        $b = 10;         return $a + $b;    }} 

As a developer, keeping the code organized is one of the most difficult tasks because sometimes it consumes a lot of time, but it’s vital to create amazing and robust applications.

Now that you have these tools at your fingertips, you can be more productive because all the omitted details will be corrected automatically, giving us a “< br >.” If you wish, you can fork this repository and create your version or collaborate on this one, making suggestions to improve the process.

With our PHP Development Services, our team at ClickIT strives to be at the forefront and meet the highest development standards; you can be sure that your application will be in good hands with us.

PHP Coding Standards FAQs