Setting up a PHP development checkout #

This page is for PHP developers who want a checkout of Exponential to write and test PHP code in: kernel fixes, extensions, tests. It goes a step further than the application creators' setup page (Setting up a development environment): the development tools, the git hooks and a PHP 8.0 binary for compatibility checks.

Contents #

1. What you need
2. Clone and install
3. Name the environment
4. The development tools
5. The git hooks
6. A PHP 8.0 binary
7. Debug settings for development
8. Daily commands

What you need #

Clone and install #

git clone https://github.com/se7enxweb/exponential.git exp-dev
cd exp-dev
composer install
php bin/php/console exp:install --apply --package=sevenx_multisite_clean --url=http://127.0.0.1:8088

composer install runs bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php afterwards ("post-install-cmd" in composer.json). The install uses SQLite unless you pass --db= (The console install). Reinstall with --force when you need a clean state.

Name the environment #

Copy config.env.php.example to config.env.php and set the environment name of this machine:

<?php
define( 'EXP_ENV', 'dev' );

With dev (or test), index.php shows PHP errors in the browser, and eZINI also reads a variant of every settings file with the name after .ini, for example settings/override/site.ini.dev.append.php, after the standard file of the same layer. Each environment has its own INI cache. config.env.php is listed in .gitignore; never commit it.

The development tools #

make devtools   # PHP_CodeSniffer, PHPCompatibility and PHPStan into .devtools/ (composer.dev.json), never into vendor/

The tools are resolved for PHP 8.0.30 from composer.dev.json, so they run on every supported PHP. After this, .devtools/vendor/bin/phpcs and .devtools/vendor/bin/phpstan exist and the make targets use them (Git hooks and make targets).

The git hooks #

make hooks      # git config core.hooksPath .githooks

Without make devtools the hooks still check syntax, the manifest and the message, and skip code style and PHPStan with a hint.

A PHP 8.0 binary #

PHP 8.0 is the oldest supported version (the stock PHP of RHEL 9); PHP 7.4 is usable without support (make lint74 checks it). The pre-commit hook and make lint80 find PHP 8.0 as EXP_PHP80, php8.0 or php80 on the PATH, or /opt/plesk/php/8.0/bin/php:

make lint80                                   # PHP 8.0 syntax of the files changed since origin/main
make lint80-all PHP80=/path/to/php8.0         # every PHP file in git, as CI runs it

Without one, CI's php80 job is your only PHP 8.0 check (Writing code that runs on PHP 8.0).

Debug settings for development #

In settings/override/site.ini.append.php of the development machine only:

[DebugSettings]
DebugOutput=enabled

[TemplateSettings]
DevelopmentMode=enabled
ShowTemplatePathComments=enabled

The debug bar then shows queries, templates, timings and settings for each page (The debug bar for PHP developers). Put these lines in a site.ini.dev.append.php instead, and they can never reach a machine whose environment is not dev.

Daily commands #

Add --allow-root-user to the cache and console commands only when you work as root.

Related pages #

• Develop with Git
• Setting up a development installation
• Environment settings
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.