Laravolt - Digital empowerment platform.

This guide outlines the standard tools and practices for maintaining high-quality code in Laravolt projects.

Introduction

What if bugs could be detected without having to run the program? What if bugs could be detected automatically, without requiring manual code review?

The tools described in this document help catch issues early and maintain consistent code quality across projects. While human code reviewers have limited energy and capabilities, automated tools provide consistent, objective analysis based on predefined rules.

This allows code reviewers to focus on more important matters like:

Naming
Algorithms
Class architecture
And other aspects that require human wisdom

Code Style: Pint

Purpose

Ensure consistent code writing style across programmers even when using different IDEs/editors.

Tools

Laravel Pint - An opinionated PHP code style fixer for minimalists.

Installation

Bash

composer require laravel/pint --dev

Usage

🌟 Run the following commands from your application folder.

To automatically fix code style issues:

Bash

vendor/bin/pint

To check for issues without fixing them, add the --test option:

Bash

vendor/bin/pint --test

If the command is too long to remember, add a shortcut/alias to composer.json:

JSON

"scripts": {
    "pint": [
        "vendor/bin/pint"
    ]
}

Then you can simply call the alias defined above:

Bash

composer pint

Custom Configuration

Create a pint.json file in your project root:

JSON

{
  "preset": "psr12",
  "rules": {
    "simplified_null_return": true,
    "braces": false,
    "new_with_braces": { "anonymous_class": false, "named_class": false }
  }
}

Static Analysis

Purpose

Find bugs before bugs find us.

Tools

PHPStan
Larastan - PHPStan extension for Laravel

Installation

Bash

composer require larastan/larastan --dev
composer require spaze/phpstan-disallowed-calls --dev

Configuration

Create a phpstan.neon file in your project root:

YAML

includes:
  - ./vendor/larastan/larastan/extension.neon
  - ./vendor/spaze/phpstan-disallowed-calls/extension.neon
parameters:
  paths:
    - app
    - config
  # The level 9 is the highest level
  level: 8
  disallowedFunctionCalls:
    - function: 'env()'
      message: 'use config() instead'
      allowIn:
        - config/*.php

Usage

Bash

vendor/bin/phpstan analyse

Cognitive Complexity

Purpose

Ensure code is readable and maintainable over the long term.

Tools

SonarLint - IDE extension that helps you detect and fix quality issues as you write code.

Installation

For IntelliJ IDEA: Install the SonarLint plugin through the marketplace
For VS Code: Install the SonarLint extension from the VS Code marketplace
For other IDEs: Check the SonarLint website for available integrations

GrumPHP

Purpose

Running all the above tools every time we make code changes can be time-consuming and easy to forget. Therefore, Laravolt comes equipped with GrumPHP, which automatically performs checks whenever we commit. If any check fails, the commit cannot proceed, and we must fix the code first.

Installation

Bash

composer require phpro/grumphp --dev

Configuration

Create a grumphp.yml file in your project root:

YAML

grumphp:
  tasks:
    phpstan:
      configuration: phpstan.neon
      use_grumphp_paths: false

Usage

Manual Check

Bash

vendor/bin/grumphp run

Automatic Integration with Git

Bash

vendor/bin/grumphp git:init

After running the above code, GrumPHP will automatically run before each commit.

Best Practices

Follow Laravel Conventions

Adhere to the Laravel way of doing things whenever possible. The framework provides many conventions and helpers that maintain code quality and readability.

Write Tests

Implement automated tests for critical functionality. Laravel provides excellent testing tools that are easy to use.

Bash

php artisan make:test FeatureTest

Document Complex Logic

Add comments for complex code sections to help other developers (and your future self) understand the reasoning behind implementation decisions.

Keep Functions Small and Focused

Each function should have a single responsibility. If a function is growing too large or handling multiple tasks, consider breaking it down into smaller, more manageable parts.

Use Type Declarations

PHP 7.4+ and Laravel 8+ support type declarations for properties, parameters, and return values, which can help catch type-related bugs early.

PHP

public function calculateTotal(int $quantity, float $price): float
{
    return $quantity * $price;
}

Regularly Update Dependencies

Keep your dependencies up-to-date with security patches and new features, but be cautious with major version updates.

Bash

composer update

Review Code Changes

Even with all these automated tools, human code review remains essential. Always have another developer review your code before merging it into the main branch.