Labs

Let’s talk about OOP is not. When you look at different plugins in WordPress, you’ll see a common pattern of class blueprint with all static properties and methods. That is not OOP. Why? You can’t create an object from statics. Statics don’t know anything about objects, as they belong to the class. This episode will show you why this matters. The design approach of wrapping static functions and properties within a class is called Class Wrapper. It’s a design pattern that utilizes the class’ ability to hide complexity. When used for that purpose, it can add helper functionality to your […]

When you create a new object, i.e. instantiate it with the keyword new, PHP gives you a constructor. You can use this constructor to control what happens when the object is created. Why would you want to do that? An object should be created in a known starting state. This approach makes sure the object is ready to use. You pass in the starting information and then let the object initialize itself. You can let it setup and set the properties as well as run the initialization processes. The other reason is that the implementation, i.e. the external application code […]

Part of OOP is the ability to hide away complexity from the outside world. The object controls the sequence for the work to be done. It only exposes what it is needed for the application to work with the object. For example, let’s relate this difficult concept to a car. When you start your car, the car handles all the tasks to start the car. It handles the air and gas mixtures, pistons, spark plugs, and circuits. You don’t have to manually sequence through each of those tasks yourself to start that car. No, you just push the button or […]

The class is the blueprint. Then how do we make an object from it? You use the new keyword. Think about that. If you wanted to build a house, the architect gives the blueprints to the craftsmen. They will build you a new house. The house is the object, built off the blueprint. Got it?! Do you see how new makes sense? In this episode, you will create your first object from the blueprint you built in the last episode. You are creating a new user. New terms that you will learn are: Instance – meaning the object, i.e. it’s […]

The first step is to define our blueprint. In PHP, the keyword class alerts PHP that this is a blueprint. The syntax is: An object is a noun, i.e. a thing. Therefore, its name should be a singular noun. How you code the name varies depending upon if you are following PSR or the WordPress coding standard. Per PSR, class names should be in StudlyCaps, where the words are smooshed together and the first letter is capitalized. Per the WordPress Coding Standard, the words are separated by an underscore and the first letter of each word is capitalized. The curly […]