Quality terms
Because working code and good code are not the same thing
Code that works today but cannot be understood, tested, or modified tomorrow is a liability, not an asset. Code quality covers metrics, static analysis, design principles like SOLID and DRY, refactoring techniques, and the habits that separate codebases teams love from ones they dread maintaining. Good quality is not about perfection — it is about making the next change easier than the last.
Poor Variable Naming
Single-letter variables, cryptic abbreviations, or meaningless names like $data and $tmp — forcing readers to hold context in their head that the name should provide.
2mo ago
quality beginner
Prototype Pattern PHP 5.0+
Creating new objects by cloning a prototype — fast when object creation is expensive and variations are needed.
2mo ago
quality intermediate
Parallel Inheritance Hierarchies
Every time you create a subclass of one class, you must also create a corresponding subclass of another — a sign of entangled designs.
2mo ago
quality intermediate
Premature Optimisation
Optimising code before measuring where the actual bottleneck is — trading readability for performance gains that often don't matter.
2mo ago
quality beginner
Primitive Obsession PHP 5.0+
Using raw strings, ints, and arrays to represent domain concepts instead of small dedicated value objects.
2mo ago
quality intermediate
Principle of Least Astonishment
Code should behave in a way that minimises surprise — functions should do what their name implies, with no unexpected side effects.
2mo ago
quality beginner
Proxy Pattern PHP 5.0+
Provides a surrogate object that controls access to another object, adding indirection for lazy loading, caching, logging, or access control.
2mo ago
quality intermediate
Pure Function
A function whose output depends only on its inputs and that produces no side effects — maximally testable and predictable.
2mo ago
quality intermediate