Coding Standards
File types & encoding
All PHP files with the exception of view/template files have the extension .php
All view/template files have the extension .tpl
Line feeds are handled automatically by Git, the repo is managed using LF. When cloning all line feeds will be converted automatically to your native environment (CRLF for Windows, LF for Mac/Linux).
PHP Tags
Short PHP opening tags and ASP tags are not supported. The characters should be lowercase.
<?php
All PHP files must include a closing tag for versions before 1.8.1. PHP files in and after 1.8.1 will no longer have a closing tag, but will require an empty line instead.
?>
Indentation
PHP files must be indented using the TAB character. 4 space tabs are not supported.
HTML in template files (.tpl) must be indented using 2 spaces, not 4 spaces or TABS. JavaScript must be indented using the TAB character.
Spacing
IF, WHILE, FOR etc should have a space before and after the brackets.
Correct:
if () {
Incorrect:
if(){
ELSE etc should have a space after and before the curly braces
Correct:
} else {
Incorrect:
}else{
Type casting does NOT have a space before the variable
Correct:
(int)$var
Incorrect:
(int) $var
Setting a variable should always have a space before and after the equals sign
Correct:
$var = 1;
Incorrect:
$var=1;
Whitespace
After any code, but before a new line - there should be no white space. The same is true for an empty line.
After the closing PHP tag it is extremely important to remove any white space.
New Lines
Opening curly braces do not go onto a new line, they will always have a space before and be on the same line.
1 True Brace Style (1TBS) (WIKI)
Correct:
if ($my_example == 1) {
class ModelExampleExample extends Model {
public function addExample() {
} else {
Incorrect:
if ($my_example == 1)
{
class ModelExampleExample extends Model
{
public function addExample()
{
}
else
{
File naming
All files should be in lower case and words separated by an underscore.
Class & method naming
Class names and method names should be camel case.
Correct:
class ModelExampleExample extends Model
public function addExample()
Incorrect:
class model_exampleexample extends Model
public function add_example()
A method scope should always be cast.
Correct:
public function addExample()
Incorrect:
function addExample()
PHP Function (helpers) naming
Helper function names should be lower case and an underscore used to separate words.
PHP variable naming
PHP variables should be lower case and an underscore used to separate words.
Correct:
$var = 123;
$new_var = 12345;
Incorrect:
$Var = 123;
$newVar = 12345;
User defined constants
User defined constants are set as upper case.
Correct:
define('MY_VAR', 'My constant string value');
Incorrect:
define('my_var', 'My constant string value');
PHP constants
These types of constant (true,false,null) are set as lower case
Correct:
$my_var = true;
Incorrect:
$my_var = TRUE;
HTML / CSS rules
Class names and id's should be hyphenated and not use an underscore
Correct:
class="my-class"
Incorrect:
class="my_class"
Source: Official OpenCart Coding Standards
For more information on coding best practices: Front-end Code Standards
