Re: [Phpwebsite-developers] Designing Modules for PhpWebSite

[Matthew M. <ma...@tu...>]

Hello,

This is in response to Praggers letter.

> 1. table prefixes. I think table prefixes are un-professional and place
> an unneccessary extra burden on both development and maintenance effort.

I think that is probably true, however this was overwhelmingly requested
by people who were only allowed one database. The argument
"purchase/create another database" didn't seem to phase these folks. So
table prefixes are standard now and in the 0.9.x version as well. The
bright side to this however is that if you use the majority of the core
SQL functions, you never have to worry about it as the core takes care of
it automatically.

As for the performance hit, I can only guess it would only manifest itself
should you chose to actually use the table prefix. All it is doing is
adding a few characters to SQL query string. If people want to run 10
installs on one database and then complain about speed, well... :)

> 2. Preference for PHP classes. In my opinion, classes are counter to the
> spirit of PHP.

Sorry but I have to disagree. Granted, before I started coding in classes,
I didn't like them. But I would NEVER go back now. It is not because of
the C++ snobbery, they are just really convenient for me.

> It is not as if the PHP implementation of
> classes is in any sense complete - in fact it is extremely rudimentary
> compared to Java or C++.

I have heard that and I probably butcher the way classes are supposed to
work, however I know my code has become much cleaner since I started using
them.

You will have to know how to use core classes in 0.9.x but you aren't
required to program your module using them if you don't wish to.

> Classes only come into their own for the
> development of really big applications - operating systems and the like.

And that is where we see phpWebSite going.

> In fact I know from experience that classes
> in PHP are actually a pain compared to straightforward coding.

Again programming preference and I would not try to convince you
otherwise. Program the way that allows you to do your best work. In the
end my question is "does it work" not "how does it work."

> 3. Multiple includes of config.php - Why include the config.php file
> more than once per page?

A shameful yes. Since the 0.8.x series originally was Nuke code, so many
bandaids and chewing gum were used in getting it running. But that was
part of the learning process. Once again, the 0.9.x series doesn't have a
lot of the coding nonsense that plagued 0.8.x.

Thanks for your input Praggers. I hope you take a chance to look at the
Fallout code. We are very pleased with the direction it is taken.

As an aside, I am finishing up the module installation protocol, so we
should have a new tarball next week. It will contain a lot more code than
what you may have seen from the demo. Also, we will settle in to getting a
sturdy CVS copy so that it can be installed and run without hassle.

Sincerely,
Matthew McNaney
Internet Systems Architect
Electronic Student Services
Email: ma...@tu...
URL: http://phpwebsite.appstate.edu
Phone: 828-262-6493
ICQ: 141057403