Practical PHP Coding Tips - Part 1

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When developing with PHP, using handy tips and shortcuts can help you save time and make your coding process more efficient.

Here are some useful PHP tips to speed up your workflow:

1. Use Null Coalescing Operator (`??`) for Default Values

Previously written using the ternary (?:) operator, the ?? operator makes the code cleaner:

PHP

// Assign a default value if the input is not set
$username = $_GET['username'] ?? 'Guest';
echo $username;

2. Short `if` Syntax (Ternary Operator)

PHP

$user = isset($_SESSION['user']) ? $_SESSION['user'] : 'Guest';

Instead:

PHP

$user = $_SESSION['user'] ?? 'Guest';

3. Easily Merge Arrays

You can merge arrays with the + operator instead of using array_merge():

PHP

$a = ['name' => 'Ali'];
$b = ['age' => 25];
$c = $a + $b;
print_r($c);

4. Check for Array Keys

Instead of array_key_exists(), use isset() to check for keys:

PHP

$data = ['name' => 'Ahmet'];

if (isset($data['name'])) {
    echo 'Name: ' . $data['name'];
}

5. Handle JSON Easily

Use json_encode() and json_decode() to manipulate JSON data:

PHP

$data = ['name' => 'Ali', 'age' => 45];
$json = json_encode($data);
echo $json; // {'name':'Ali','age':45}

$decode = json_decode($json, true);
print_r($decode); // Array ([name] => Ali, [age] => 45)

6. Use `explode()` and `implode()` for String Conversion

PHP

$words = 'PHP,Python,JavaScript';
$array = explode(',', $words);
print_r($array);

$joined = implode(' - ', $array);
echo $joined;

7. Simple File Read/Write

PHP

// Read file content
$content = file_get_contents('file.txt');
echo $content;

// Write to a file
file_put_contents('file.txt', 'New content written');

8. Safe and Simple MySQL Connection (Using PDO)

PHP

try {
    $db = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=database', 'root', '');
    $db->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
    echo 'Connection successful!';
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo 'Connection error: ' . $e->getMessage();
}

9. Generate Random Strings in PHP

PHP

function generateCode($length = 8) {
    return substr(str_shuffle('ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789'), 0, $length);
}

echo generateCode(10);