Class Naming Convention

Also Known As

TL;DR

Explanation

PSR-1 mandates PascalCase for class names. Good class names are: specific (UserRepository not DataManager), nouns or noun phrases (Order, EmailService, InvoicePdfGenerator), and consistent with domain language. Avoid generic names (Manager, Handler, Helper, Processor) — they signal low cohesion. Abstract classes and interfaces have no required prefix/suffix in PSR standards but many teams use Interface suffix or I prefix for interfaces, Abstract prefix for abstract classes.

Common Misconception

Why It Matters

Common Mistakes

• snake_case or camelCase class names: user_service, userService — must be UserService.
• All-caps acronyms: HTMLParser — prefer HtmlParser (only first letter capped).
• Generic names: DataManager, BaseHelper — be specific about what the class does.
• Class name not matching filename — PSR-4 requires App\User to be in App/User.php.

Code Examples

// Wrong naming:
class user_repository { }    // snake_case — wrong
class userService { }        // camelCase — wrong
class PAYMENTGATEWAY { }     // ALL_CAPS — wrong
class data_manager { }       // Generic + snake_case
class HTMLrenderer { }       // Inconsistent acronym caps

// Correct PascalCase, specific names:
class UserRepository { }     // PascalCase, specific
class PaymentGateway { }     // PascalCase, domain term
class HtmlRenderer { }       // Acronym: only first letter capped
class InvoicePdfGenerator { } // Multi-word, clear purpose
class OrderNotFoundException extends RuntimeException { }

References

• ↗ https://www.php-fig.org/psr/psr-1/#3-namespace-and-class-names

Tags

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