MODX PHP Coding Standards

These coding standards primarily apply to PHP code.

General¶

• Beginning brackets do NOT linebreak. They start one space after the end parenthesis, as according to traditional Unix policy.
• Do not do any real logic in object constructors. Create class methods to do so. null, true and false should always be lowercase.
• Avoid embedded assignments (ex: $d = ($a = $b + $c) is bad).
• Never use extract().
• Avoid using global variables if at all possible.
• Document EVERYTHING.

Parenthesis¶

• Do not put parenthesis next to keywords. Put a space between.
• Do put parenthesis next to function names.
• Do not use parenthesis in return statements when it's not necessary. Example:

if ($test) {
}
while ($test == $other) {
}
array_push($one,$two);
return $test;

• Do not use parenthesis when using include, require, include_once, and require_once.

Classes¶

• All ''core'' classnames, unless stated otherwise for special conditions, will be prefixed with the "mod" prefix: ie, modChunk, modTemplate, etc.
• All method names will be camelCase and will start with a lowercase letter.
• All private methods and variables must be prefixed with the underscore _ character.

class modFactor {
    public $publicVar;
    private $_privateVar;
    private function _privateFunc() { }
    public function publicFunc() { }
}

Variables¶

Note these are not function arguments.

• Use all lowercase letters.
• Separate words with the underscore.

Function Arguments and Class Variables¶

• The first letter is lowercase, rest are camelCase. Example:

class modFactor {
    public function testFunc($testVar, array &$anotherTest = array()) {
        $this->_privateVar = $testVar;
        $local_variable =& $anotherTest;
    }
}

Arrays¶

• Array index names use the underscore _, not the dash as their separator. This prevents errors with magic_quotes.
• Array index names are always lowercase. Spaces are represented by an underscore.
• Array index names are always encapsulated with single quotes. Example:

$_lang['chunk_create_text'] = 'Test';

Constants¶

• Constants must be in all UPPERCASE letters.
• Use only if absolutely necessary.

File Structure¶

• Always name PHP class files in name.class.php format.

Prefixing¶

• Lexicon strings for Components need to be prefixed:

$_lang['mycomponent.welcome_message'] = 'Welcome!';

• Always prefix class names; eg: 'finBank', 'finTransaction', etc.
• Always prefix Chunk names; eg: 'finStatement', 'finDeposit'