Only Expert PHP Developers Are Aware Of These 9 Advanced PHP Hacks

The demand for PHP developers is increasing as they are valuable assets for any business. So, most PHP experts know advanced PHP hacks used during the PHP development process. Therefore, it is essential to learn them if you wish to become a PHP developer. But before that, let’s discuss what is PHP and the reasons to use it?

What is PHP, and Why it is used for web development?

The name PHP means Hypertext Preprocessor. It is an open-source and widely used scripting language that can be utilised to develop interactive and dynamic websites. The applications written using this programming language can run on web servers but do not rely on a web browser.

The popularity of PHP is increasing further because many PHP developers are using it for website development. It is the best technology that provides a convenient development process with various PHP development techniques. Let’s discuss the reasons why PHP is utilised for web development.

Reasons why PHP is Utilised for Web Development

1. Improved Loading Speed

Compared with other web technologies, using PHP can load your website pages quickly. This higher loading pace of your website will fulfil your customers. Moreover, when combined with other advantages, it will help you retain and build a client base.

2. Easy to Learn and Use

It is easier to start with PHP for building your website. PHP is simple to learn because even an individual who doesn’t have experience and extensive knowledge can make a web page using a single file of PHP in less time. Its syntax is easy, and learning command operations take less time.

3. Versatility

The main advantage of PHP is that it is platform-independent means it can be used on various platforms like Linux, Windows, OS, and other web browsers. It also is capable of supporting all of the primary web servers, making it easy to deploy on different platforms and systems at a minimum price.

4. Well Connected with Databases

Using PHP, you can easily connect with any type of database. The most common option is MySQL which is prominent, effective and free. The other database management systems compatible with PHP are SQLite, mSQL, and MS-SQL. However, the developers get more freedom to pick the database that best suits the application being created.

5. Inexpensive Open-Source Software

Most development tools combined with PHP are also open-source software. You can get them for free of cost. They will eventually lessen the price of the project. There are many PHP development frameworks like CodeIgnitor and Laravel that can expand the PHP functionality and make the development process efficient and simple.

What are the 9 Advanced PHP Hacks?

Here are the 9 advanced PHP hacks or tips that PHP developers are aware of, and a beginner PHP developer needs to learn these tricks -

1. Print and Echo Outputs

PHP programmers use two options - Print() and Echo() for printing the text in the web browser.

The functions of Print() and Echo() options -

• The print () function returns value integer 1, similar to other functions' operations.
• The echo() function does not return a value but accepts one parameter at a time.

The print() operation is mainly utilised in complex expressions, so the time taken to execute them is higher. But the echo() function returns the program status, and it's faster due to its capability of sending messages back through the strings rather than returning something like a string or int variable.

2. Single and Double Quotes

Using single and double quotes is essential as they majorly impact how you write the code in PHP. Therefore, the programmers need to include both quotes and ensure that there are no programming errors.

Double quotes might be difficult compared to single quotes as you have to type them in various places. It will slow down the speed of processing. It is why using single quotes is a good choice.

3. Auto Loading Classes

While creating the software, the programmer might come across classes utilised in various system areas. However, it is overwhelming to remember which file is holding them. For helping with this kind of task, PHP has an auto-loading feature for header files to let developers know which file is holding a particular class.

Every PHP developer might not know all the PHP hacks. So, it is significant to choose from the dedicated PHP developers in India with the required knowledge because they are the ones who can help you in correctly building the project.

4. Use a MySQL Administration Tool

To create PHP applications, developers use the MySQL database administration tool like phpMyAdmin to maintain your database. The programmers suggest not saving credentials of your database in plain text on servers or storing them in the code.

Other than this, save them as the environment variables or utilise an SSH channel for connecting from your local machine to the remote server. Suppose you are hosting various websites on one server, then create separate databases for each app because you can simply manage them as an independent entity than together.

5. Making Use of a Good Source Editor

When you write code in PHP, choosing a good code editor is essential when you write code in PHP. You can use the code editors like Notepad++ or Sublime Text. They both come with syntax highlighting that will help you detect the errors even before they occur and offer auto-completion features that can help you where a particular thing is required while you write the code in PHP.

If you have never used these tools for editing, it will take some time for you to get habituated to them. However, writing code in PHP seems easier if you begin to use them. Indeed, using best practices is always helpful to ensure that code is readable by others and error-free.

6. Sanitise Data Present in your Databases

The SQL queries are straightforward, so it is easy to introduce errors, mainly when you are not careful. So it is crucial to sanitise the data available in your databases before you perform any extra calculations or comparisons.

If any additional steps are present in your logic, for instance, ensuring that one field contains text and the other has a number, then split them into two separate logic units in your PHP code. While verification, if any step fails, you can know precisely where the error occurred.

7. Ternary Operator

Nowadays, the ternary operator is the most common programming structure used. It has three arguments - condition, results if true, and then choosing the opposite outcome if the result is false. If you use if-else logic, but here only one line statement is used instead of 4 lines because there were no braces used before the ternary operators were introduced.

It seems to be a great idea if you use 1 line statement. It enhances readability but using nested blocks within each other will lead to abnormality. You can avoid this issue if you try using if-else statements.

8. Utilising Space in Code

The best benefit of using PHP is that it can take advantage of the processor and runs on any device. But the space consumed by 1 byte makes it less efficient. So if you use fewer spaces in PHP code, the results will be better. Reducing the spaces in the code also decreases the risks caused by security-related vulnerabilities.

9. Using References

When you require a function for altering the original variable without any expectations of return or if it is defined and accessed through reference, make sure to use the ampersand sign(&). It will allow two variables to share the same value.

Conclusion

So, these are the advanced PHP tricks or hacks an expert developer is aware of. But all PHP developers are not experts. So, at that time, don’t hesitate to ask the professionals for some advice if you don’t understand anything related to PHP development.