PHP Idioms

PHP Idioms and Patterns

Modern PHP (8.x) rewards type safety, immutability, and framework-agnostic design. Lean into typed properties, enums, and readonly classes. Idiomatic PHP = strict types, PSR-compliant, well-tested.

Scope: PHP coding idioms. Test naming: GEMINI.md § Testing Strategy. Logging: @.gemini/skills/logging-and-observability-principles/SKILL.md.

Modern PHP Features (8.x)

1. declare(strict_types=1) — always, every file.

2. Enums for domain constants:

   enum Priority: string {
       case Low = 'low';
       case Medium = 'medium';
       case High = 'high';
   }
   

3. Readonly classes for immutable DTOs:

   readonly class CreateTaskRequest {
       public function __construct(
           public string $title,
           public Priority $priority,
       ) {}
   }
   

4. Named arguments for clarity:

   $task = new Task(title: 'Deploy fix', priority: Priority::High);
   

5. Match expressions over switch:

   $score = match($priority) {
       Priority::Low => 1,
       Priority::Medium => 5,
       Priority::High => 10,
   };
   

Error Handling

1. Domain exception hierarchies:

   abstract class DomainException extends \RuntimeException {}
   
   class NotFoundException extends DomainException {
       public function __construct(
           public readonly string $resource,
           public readonly string $resourceId,
       ) {
           parent::__construct("{$resource} '{$resourceId}' not found");
       }
   }
   

2. Never catch (\Exception) without re-throw or specific handling.

3. Type-safe return types — never mixed without justification.

Interfaces and DI

1. Define interface where consumed, implement where provided:

   // In task feature
   interface TaskStorage {
       public function getById(string $id): Task;
       public function save(Task $task): void;
   }
   
   // Constructor injection
   class TaskService {
       public function __construct(
           private readonly TaskStorage $storage,
       ) {}
   }
   

Naming (PSR-12)

1. PascalCase for classes, interfaces, traits, enums.
2. camelCase for methods, properties.
3. UPPER_SNAKE_CASE for constants.
4. PSR-4 autoloading — namespace = directory path.

Testing

1. PHPUnit or Pest:

   test('calculate discount returns zero for no items', function () {
       $result = $this->calculator->calculateDiscount([], $this->coupon);
       expect($result)->toBe(0.0);
   });
   

2. Data providers for parameterized tests.

3. Mockery or PHPUnit mocks — never test implementation details.

Formatting and Static Analysis

Related

• Code Idioms and Conventions GEMINI.md § Code Idioms and Conventions
• Testing Strategy GEMINI.md § Testing Strategy
• Error Handling Principles GEMINI.md § Error Handling Principles