Session: Object-oriented theme and plugin development with PHP 7

Date: Friday, July 26, 2019
Time: 4:00 - 4:45 pm (PDT) (UTC-07:00)
Location: Room 3: Trail Room
Format: General Lecture Session

Session description

If you've ever been a Java or C++ programmer, then you probably encountered some pretty strong opinions about object-oriented programming (OOP).  And, if you've ever been online, I'm sure you've also seen similar strong opinions about the state of PHP and, perhaps, the mental acuity of those who choose to use it.  If you've ever wondered what all the OOP hoopla was about and how it might be useful to us when programming in WordPress, then this is the session for you!

Dash has been writing object-oriented code for years.  More pertinently, they've developed some extremely useful tools that you can use to get started in this world, too.  Especially now that WordPress is recommending PHP 7.3, it's time to learn about and play with all the new features of our language that we have in our toy box primarily those which could positively impact your theme and plugin development going forward.

After this session, you'll have a good understanding of new PHP features like parameter and return type hinting, argument unpacking, and the spaceship operator (yeah, it's a thing).  We'll also go over some basic OOP concepts like the SOLID development principles.  Finally, we'll take a quick look at how Dash uses some or all of these in developing themes and plugins.


A note from Dash: At the end of the video, I ad-libbed an joke that, even as I said it, I realized was inappropriate. Unsure of whether to correct myself in the moment or just complete the presentation, I opted to complete it and post this message here. My apologies.

Presenter

David Dashifen Kees

Headshot of David Dashifen Kees
Sr. Full Stack Developer, Georgetown University

By day, David Dashifen Kees is a mild-mannered programmer living in Virginia working for the Web Services unit within Georgetown University's Information Services department. By night ... they're pretty much the same thing except asleep. Programming since the sixth grade, Dash has been writing web applications in academia since 1998 and evangelizing WordPress since 2010.  When not coding, they enjoy comics, movies, games, fantasy novels, and walking their dog, Jill.  They program with tabs, use two spaces after a period, and you can pry the Oxford comma from their cold, dead hands.

Pronouns: they/them 😁

Sessions

  • General Lecture Session: Object-oriented theme and plugin development with PHP 7

Session video

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