How can I reduce lines of code in PHP? [closed] - php

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I am a web developer and I write code in PHP/Laravel framework. I've been tying to follow best practice for writing code and I know it's a good practice to write 15-20 lines of code in functions and maximum 200 lines of code in Classes. But every time I end up writing minimum 40-50 lines in a function. for example here the code snippet which I wrote to get details of client and assigned users.
public function preMessageSend($client, $assigned)
{
$ticket_number = $client->ticket_number;
$title = $client->title;
$department = $client->department;
$priority = $client->priority;
if ($client->first_name !== null || $client->first_name !== '') {
$client_name = $client->first_name." ".$client->last_name;
} else {
$client_name = $client->username;
}
if ($client->email !== '' || $client->email !== null) {
$client_email = $client->email;
} else {
$client->email = 'Not available';
}
if($client->mobile !== null || $client->mobile !== '') {
$client_mobile = $client->code."".$client->mobile;
} else {
$client_mobile = 'Not available';
}
if($assigned != null) {
if ($assigned->first_name !== null || $assigned->first_name !== '') {
$assigned_name = $assigned->first_name." ".$assigned->last_name;
} else {
$assigned_name = $assigned->username;
}
if ($assigned->email !== '' || $assigned->email !== null) {
$assigned_email = $assigned->email;
} else {
$assigned->email = 'Not available';
}
if($assigned->mobile !== null || $assigned->mobile !== '') {
$assigned_mobile = $assigned->code."".$assigned->mobile;
} else {
$assigned_mobile = 'Not available';
}
if ($assigned->address !== null || $assigned->address !== '') {
$assigned_address = $assigned->address;
} else {
$assigned_address = 'Not available';
}
$this->sendMessageWithAssigned($ticket_number, $title, $department, $priority, $client_name, $client_email, $client_mobile, $assigned_name, $assigned_email, $assigned_mobile, $assigned_address);
} else {
$this->sendMessageWithoutAssigned($ticket_number, $title, $department, $priority, $client_name, $client_email, $client_mobile);
}
Please tell me how can I reduce the loc in my class and functions and what are the best practices to avoid writing such long functions.
TIA

Answer 1

First of all, null and '' is true for empty() so you could do:
if (!empty($client->first_name)) { // if not empty
$client_name = $client->first_name." ".$client->last_name;
} else {
$client_name = $client->username;
}
Then you could also use the ternary operator:
$client_name = !empty($client->first_name) ? $client->first_name." ".$client->last_name : $client->username;
Then for some statements there is also the or statement available:
$client_email = $client->email or 'Not available';
$client_mobile = $client->code . $client->mobile or 'Not available';
$assigned_address = $assigned->address or 'Not available';
These or statements are only equal to:
if(!empty($assigned->address)){
$assigned_address = $assigned->address;
} else {
$assigned_address = 'Not available';
}
// Or the equivalent ternary
$assigned_address = !empty($assigned->address) ? $assigned->address : 'Not available';
And what I mean for "some" is that:
$client->first_name = null;
$client->last_name = null;
echo empty($client->first_name." ".$client->last_name); // false
echo isset($client->first_name." ".$client->last_name); // true
is not empty even if both variables are null, due to the " " space which would make it isset()
Now be careful with those or statements because !empty() does not always give the opposite results as isset() where isset([]) is true and where empty([]) is also true.

Answer 2

Instead of
if ($client->first_name !== null || $client->first_name !== '') {
$client_name = $client->first_name." ".$client->last_name;
} else {
$client_name = $client->username;
}
You could do:
$client_name = ($client->first_name !== null || $client->first_name !== '') ? $client->first_name." ".$client->last_name : $client->username;

Answer 3

As others already suggested, you can use empty() instead of the != null and != '' checks. Furthermore, you could omit the else part in most statements, e.g.:
$assigned_name = $assigned->username;
if (!empty($assigned->first_name)) {
$assigned_name = $assigned->first_name." ".$assigned->last_name;
}
This sets $assigned_name to your former else value by default and if the condition is met $assigned_name gets overwritten. I don't recommend using ternary operator because it's not that readable IMO.
I wouldn't worry too much about lines of code anyway as long as the code is readable and efficient.