Using PHP is great for dynamic website. However, more dynamic means more resource hungry. Here is a short list of tips you should follow to avoid putting the PHP interpreter in difficulty.
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Replace print() with echo().
If you have a string, wrap it inside single quote (‘) instead of double quote (“).
Use unset() to clean memory from unneeded large variables or arrays.
Replace require_once() with require().
When including or requiring a file, include the full path. This will save the time taken to resolve the OS path.
Use str_replace() instead of preg_replace().
Whenever possible, use “elseif” instead of case/switch.
Avoid using error suppression with @.
Always close the database connection when not needed anymore.
When working with arrays, always use $row[‘id’] instead of $row[id].
Avoid using PHP shortcode opening tags like ” Use a caching addon (eAccelerator or memcache) to avoid having the PHP interpreter compile the scripts every time.
When increasing numerical variables like “$i++”, use “++$i” instead. Does the same job for less server time.
Always clean user input with mysql_real_escape_string() (for MySQL data) and htmlspecialchars() (for data to be shown on the browser).
Use md5() or another hashing function to store sensitive information like user passwords.
ip2long() and long2ip() can be used to convert IP address from string to integer (for storing in database or other uses).
When redirecting users to another page with header(“Location: “. $url); make sure to include exit; or die(); immediately afterwards to avoid script execution.