Naming conventions

This article describes the naming conventions for Contrexx development.

General

• Use of clever names makes everything easy! For example /modules/Demo/Controller/DemoModuleController.class.php would be a stupid filename, because everything the filename consists of is already contained in the file's path. Use something like modules/Demo/Controller/Frontend.class.php instead. If you work on the Demo module, you hopefully will know what module you are working on, and it should be obvious if the file is part of model, view or controllers.
• Avoid keywords of all used languages (PHP keywords, JS keywords), because they can cause trouble when used in namespaces or as a class, interface or attribute name.
• Always use singular names. Use the singular form of the noun to label something (component name, variable, class, etc.)

All names (component names, variables, classes, methods, HTTP parameters, ...) are written in one of the following ways. Never mix these notations! A string can be converted between each of those, without any loss of data:

Code	Notation	Description	Examples
			"URL"	"Class loader"	"HTTP 1.0"
CC	Camel case	CC strings are written in lowercase, except for first letter per "word".	Url	ClassLoader	Http10
CCL	Camel case, starting with a lowercase letter	CCl notation works like CC, with the exception that the first letter is lowercase.	url	classLoader	http10
USL	Underline separated, lowercase	USl notation splits all words with an underline character (_). All characters are written in lowercase.	url	class_loader	http_1_0
USU	Underline separated, capital letters	USu notation is the same as USl, except that all letter are written uppercase.	URL	CLASS_LOADER	HTTP_1_0
USC	Underline separated, camel case	USC is a mixture of USU/USL and CC. Words are separated using camelcase, but special characters are replaced by an underline.	Url	ClassLoader	Http_1_0
HR	Human readable	By human readable, we mean a notation that is quite similar to the English writing. Since the software does not now the English grammar, there might be some mistakes with upper and lower case. HR notation starts with a capital letter, all the following letters are written in lowercase. "Words" are separated by a space.	Url	Class loader	Http 1 0
HS	Hyphen separated	HS strings are written in lowercase and separated by a hyphen (-).	url	class-loader	http-1-0

How to write what

Here's a table showing how to write what. Things that needed further information are listed below. This table is not limited to PHP.

What	Notation to use	Reason
Namespaces	CC	...
Events	Event Naming Scheme	...
Classes, Interfaces and Traits	CC	...
Class attributes and variables	CCL	...
Class constants	USU	...
Methods and Functions	CCL	...
Components	CC	...
DB names, tables and attributes	USL	...
DB ENUM and SET values	USU	...
HTTP parameter names	CCL	...
Files and folders	CC	...
Template placeholders	USU	...
Template blocks	USL	...
cmd/section	CC	...
Exposed methods, Command mode commands	CC	...
HTML attributes, classes, ids, names	HS	...
Version numbers	Version Number Format	5.0.2

Namespaces

Use namespaces that match the class's or interface's location in the file system. This allows the ClassLoader to auto-load this file without unnecessary searching.

Methods and Functions

Use idiomatic names for methods and functions to make the reading of your code as straightforward as possible.

Events

Events constist of up to 3 parts following the scheme <component>[.<entity>]:<action>

Placholder	type	wordtype	usage	meaning
<component>	CC	Noun	Add always	Use the name of the component which registers the event
<entity>	CC	Noun	Add if the event belongs to an entity or part of the component	Name of the related entity or part of the component
<action>	CCL	Verb in imperative form	Add always	Describes what happened just before this event was triggered

Examples:

• MediaBrowser.Plugin:initialize
• Cache:clear
• Model:prePersist

Components

Be sure you don't use a reserved PHP keyword (see General) or the name of an existing module, core_module, or core component.

Database tables

The name of a database table must follow the following scheme (USL notation):

DBPREFIX[core|core_module|module]_{COMPONENT_NAME}_{ENTITY_NAME}

Example: contrexx_core_module_news_article (whereas DBPREFIX is set to contrexx_)

Files and folders

Files of course end with a type specific suffix. For PHP files, the ClassLoader requires the ending .class.php or .interface.php for classes/interfaces to load properly.

Template placeholders

The general naming scheme for placeholders is as follows (USU notation):

[[{COMPONENT_NAME}[_{SECTION}]_{OBJECT_NAME}[_{OBJECT_ATTRIBUTE}]]]

A few examples:

• [[ACCESS_USER_ID]]
• [[ACCESS_SETTINGS_MESSAGE]]

Placeholders used for the Interface Text of the GUI do use a special naming scheme. Refer to the article Text-Variable.

Template blocks

The general naming scheme for placeholders is as follows (USL notation):

<!-- (BEGIN|END) {COMPONENT_NAME}[_{SECTION}]_{OBJECT_NAME}[_{OBJECT_ATTRIBUTE}] -->

A few examples:

• <!-- (BEGIN|END) access_sociallogin_provider -->
• <!-- (BEGIN|END) access_signup_confirmation_success -->