PHP and MySQL Web Development 4th Ed-tqw-_darksiderg

Reusing Code
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After you have a list of components, see which of them already exist. If a prewritten
module has that functionality, consider using it. Don’t forget to look inside and
outside your organization for existing code. Particularly in the open source community,
many preexisting code components are freely available for use. Decide
what code you have to write from scratch and roughly how big that job is.
Make decisions about process issues.This step is ignored too often in web projects.
By process issues, we mean, for example, coding standards, directory structures,
management of version control, development environment, documentation level
and standards, and task allocations to team members.
Build a prototype based on all the previous information. Show it to users. Iterate.
Remember that, throughout this process, it is important and useful to separate
content and logic in your application.We explain this idea in more detail shortly.
Make any optimizations you think are necessary.
As you go, test as thoroughly as you would with any software development project.
Reusing Code
Programmers often make the mistake of rewriting code that already exists.When you
know what application components you need or—on a smaller scale—what functions
you need, check what’s available before beginning development.
One of the strengths of PHP as a language is its large built-in function library. Always
check to see whether an existing function does what you are trying to do. Finding the
one you want usually isn’t too hard. A good way to do this is to browse the manual by
function group.
Sometimes programmers rewrite functions accidentally because they haven’t looked
in the manual to see whether an existing function supplies the functionality they need.
Always keep the manual bookmarked.Take note, however, that the online manual is
updated quite frequently.The annotated manual is a fantastic resource because it contains
comments, suggestions, and sample code from other users that often answer the same
questions you might have after reading the basic manual page. It often contains bug
reports and workarounds before they are fixed or documented in the documentation
body.
You can reach the English language version at http://www.php.net/manual/en/.
Some programmers who come from a different language background might be tempted
to write wrapper functions to essentially rename PHP’s functions to match the language
with which they are familiar.This practice is sometimes called syntactic sugar. It’s a bad
idea; it makes your code harder for others to read and maintain. If you’re learning a new
language, you should learn how to use it properly. In addition, adding a level of function
call in this manner slows down your code. All things considered, you should avoid this
approach.