Naming conventions – PHP

Here are the suggested naming conventions for Variables, Classes, Functions and Files.

Naming Variables

• Use all lower case.
• Use _ to separate words, e.g. $green_color_value
• Use descriptive names (except loop variables).
• Loop variables can be of the usual variety: $i, $j, $k, etc.
• Count variables should follow the format $*_count, e.g. $error_count
• Global variables should be prefixed with g_
• Temporary variables should be prefixed with t_
• Parameters and variables passed from forms that have been cleaned of any special SQL chars (i.e. slashes) should be prefixed with c_
• Never prefix with l_ or o_ or q_ (visually confusing)
• $query and $result should be used for SQL query and results respectively

Naming Classes

• Use FirstLetterOfWordIsCaptilized style
• Variables that are class objects should have the prefix coo_

Naming Functions

• Use all lower case.
• Use _ to separate words, e.g. setup_page_breaks()
• Keep functions to 5 words or less
• Functions that print should be prefixed with print_.
• Try to use prefixes to group functions (i.e., email_, news_, etc.)

Naming Files

• Use all lower case.
• Use _ to separate words, e.g. view_new_bugs_page.php
• Use .php file extensions
• Filenames must be less than 32 characters in length.
• Included files should be suffixed by _inc.php