The 18th _ of April, 2012 Writing Good Code v0.1a 

Biography ! Started programming at 12 ! 4-year core contributor to CakePHP, lead developer for ~1.5 years ! Co-founded Lithium ! Just scratching the surface 

What...? 

Compared to what? 

“ ” Ward Cunningham Clean code is when you look at a routine and it's pretty much what you expected. 

Bad == Stream-of-consciousness 

public function edit() { $post = Posts::first($this->request->id); if ($post) { if (!$this->request->is('get')) { $post->set($this->request->data); if ($post->validates()) { if ($post->save()) { Messages::add('Post was saved successfully.', 'ok'); } else { Messages::add('Saved failed due to DB error', 'error'); } } else { Messages::add('Saved failed due to validation error', 'error'); } } else { $this->set(array('post' => $post)); } } else { throw new NotFoundException(); } } 

Post exists? 404 GET? Show edit Valid? Show errors Dead end Branch DB error Save? Success Yes Yes Yes Yes N o N o N o N o 

Return Branch Post exists? 404 G ET? Show edit Valid? Show errors D B error Save? Success Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No 

public function edit() { $post = Posts::first($this->request->id); if (!$post) { throw new NotFoundException(); } if (!$this->request->is('get')) { return compact('post'); } $post->set($this->request->data); if (!$post->validates()) { Messages::add('Saved failed due to validation error', 'error'); return compact('post'); } if ($post->save()) { Messages::add('Post was saved successfully.', 'ok'); return compact('post'); } Messages::add('Saved failed due to DB error', 'error'); return compact('post'); } 

“ ” Felix Geisendörfer Return home early. http://bit.ly/returnhomeearly #ProTip 

Refactoring 

Refactoring ! A process of understanding ! A process of finding balance 

Refactoring Perfectionism Sloppiness The Spectrum 

Refactoring ! All code is duplicate code ! Find the breaking point ! Focus on flexibility, not capability 

Separation of Concerns 

Separation of Concerns ! Modularity ! Stratification ! Probably the most important concept 

Modularity ! Encapsulation ! Extensibility ! Replaceability 

Modularity ! Assumptions ! … == trade-offs 

Techniques 

Techniques ! Recap: Avoid large if blocks ! Recap: Else blocks generally also bad ! Switch blocks rarely needed ! Data vs. logic: more defaults, fewer decisions 

switch ($request->get('http:host')) { case 'localhost': case '127.0.0.1': case 'myapp.local': case 'myapp.local.dev': case 'myapp.dev.local': case 'local.myapp.com': return 'development'; case '10.183.1.63': case '10.183.1.57': case '50.56.80.111': case '50.56.80.107': case 'dev.myapp.com': return 'staging'; case 'myapp.com': case 'www.myapp.com': return 'production'; case 'test.myapp.com': case 'myapp.test.local': return 'test'; } 

$hosts = array( 'local' => array( 'localhost', '127.0.0.1', 'myapp.local', 'myapp.local.dev', 'myapp.dev.local', 'local.myapp.com' ), 'production' => array('myapp.com', 'www.myapp.com'), 'test' => array('test.myapp.com', 'myapp.test.local'), 'development' => array( '10.183.1.63', '10.183.1.57', '50.56.80.111', '50.56.80.107', 'dev.myapp.com' ) ); $current = $request->get('http:host'); foreach ($hosts as $env => $list) { if (in_array($current, $list)) { return $env; } } return 'production'; 

class Session { switch ($storage) { case 'php': // ... case 'file': // ... case 'database': // ... } } 

switch (true) { case $a && $b: // ... case $a [&& !$b]: // ... case $a && $c: // ... } 

public function index($class, array $keys, array $options = array()) { if (isset($options['background'])) { if ($options['background'] == true) { // ... } } // ... } 

public function index($class, array $keys, array $options = array()) { $defaults = array('include' => array(), 'background' => false); $options += $defaults; if ($options['background']) { // ... } // ... } 

Data > Logic #ProTip 

Kaizen 

Code you wrote two years ago should disgust you today. 

Revolution 

Revolution ! Software is ethereal, no limitations ! Boundless potential for innovation ! Always remember: everything is amazing 

Why...? 

Why...? ! ...code for a living? ! ...work at your company? ! ...use ? 

Action <= Value <= Belief 

“ ” Christopher Alexander In my life as an architect, I find that the single thing which inhibits young professionals, new students most severely, is their acceptance of standards that are too low. If I ask a student whether her design is as good as Chartres, she often smiles tolerantly at me as if to say, "Of course not, that isn't what I am trying to do.... I could never do that." 

“ ” Steve Jobs Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work; and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. 

Thanks. Also, Feedback: ! @nateabele ! [email protected] ! http://nateabele.com/ Check out http://phpwizards.com/