Software Engineering in WordPress, PHP, and Backend Development
Articles, tips, and resources for WordPress-based development.
Templates in WordPress is a topic that seems to come up for discussion every now and again. There are plugins aiming to make it possible, too. And though I’m intrigued by the idea, I’ve yet to go all in on it.
That’s a topic of discussion for another post, though.
Over the last few years of writing plugins for others, one of the things I’ve found to be one of the easiest things to do is to separate our views into partials.
In previous posts, I’ve talked about using PHP CodeSniffer with WordPress, how to install it (in a variety of ways), and why I think it’s important.
In continuing the series on code smells and writing higher quality code for WordPress (by avoiding code smells), I followed-up the initial article with two other pieces. The first article covers a high-level definition of code smells.
The second article, which I outline below, talks about how to install PHP CodeSniffer with WordPress starting from ground zero.
For the past couple of weeks, I (along with others in the comments) have been talking about things such as testing, namespaces, and more. When building well-architected, testable, and scalable software, these are all relevant topics.
But they only scratch the surface of some of the many ways in which we can manage project architecture.
Developers have been experimenting (and using) WordPress with a variety of different tooling such as different web servers (like IIS – good luck :) and with different database servers.
And when it comes to dealing with various types of third-party dependencies like database servers, creating a proper architecture is key to making sure your code is portable between environments and for other reasons, such as testing.
Sites for WordPress tutorials are nearly a dime a dozen. Some are fantastic, and others leave us wanting more. I know their ultimate goal is to help other people learn how to write plugins the right way, but it’s a mixed bag when it comes to the quality of the content.
There’s nearly an endless permutation of how we can present information which is why I enjoy sharing my take on things here, reading the comments, sharing content on other sites.
But one aspect of WordPress tutorial sites that is underserved, in my opinion, is talking with people who build things for WordPress and the reasons for creating a solution and the rationale behind how they’ve built it. This is something that can be covered both about WordPress themes and WordPress plugins.
Because I spend the majority of my time working on WordPress plugins, I’m obviously going to be focused more on that aspect of the economy than the other. And recently, a friend of mine started up a new site specifically geared towards WordPress tutorials focused on plugins.
The site is neat, though: It’s not like a music review site that aims to provide a rating or end-user review of a plugin. It’s something different, and I’m a fan.
There are a lot of fun terms, like “code smells,” that come up in programming. And though they may have unusual names and make somewhat tedious or boring concepts sound a little more exciting, they can often refer to something that decreases the quality of what we’re building.
At least, that’s the case with code smells.
In a previous post, I’ve talked about using PHP CodeSniffer to watch the code we’re writing to help us make sure that we’re following certain standards, rules, and what not but I’ve not discussed it regarding code smells.
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