Inherited a PHP nightmare, where to start? [closed]

Answer 1

1. Before all else, get the files in version control as is. Do not proceed past #1 until it is done.
2. Establish a testing environment.
3. Clean up the files

Answer 2

Most of the time you can tell if a file is being used by using grep.

grep -r "index2.php" *

You can also use the PHP parser to help you cleanup. Here is an example script that prints out the functions that are declared and function calls:

#!/usr/bin/php
<?php
class Token {
    public $type;
    public $contents;

    public function __construct($rawToken) {
        if (is_array($rawToken)) {
            $this->type = $rawToken[0];
            $this->contents = $rawToken[1];
        } else {
            $this->type = -1;
            $this->contents = $rawToken;
        }
    }
}

$file = $argv[1];
$code = file_get_contents($file);

$rawTokens = token_get_all($code);
$tokens = array();
foreach ($rawTokens as $rawToken) {
    $tokens[] = new Token($rawToken);
}

function skipWhitespace(&$tokens, &$i) {
    global $lineNo;
    $i++;
    $token = $tokens[$i];
    while ($token->type == T_WHITESPACE) {
        $lineNo += substr($token->contents, "\n");
        $i++;
        $token = $tokens[$i];
    }
}

function nextToken(&$j) {
    global $tokens, $i;
    $j = $i;
    do {
        $j++;
        $token = $tokens[$j];
    } while ($token->type == T_WHITESPACE);
    return $token;
}

for ($i = 0, $n = count($tokens); $i < $n; $i++) {
    $token = $tokens[$i];
    if ($token->type == T_FUNCTION) {
        skipWhitespace($tokens, $i);
        $functionName = $tokens[$i]->contents;
        echo 'Function: ' . $functionName . "\n";
    } elseif ($token->type == T_STRING) {
        skipWhitespace($tokens, $i);
        $nextToken = $tokens[$i];
        if ($nextToken->contents == '(') {
            echo 'Call: ' . $token->contents . "\n";
        }
    }
}

Answer 3

In addition to the great stuff other people have said, to get a first pass at what files are actively being used, you can install an opcode cache like APC or eaccelerator on your dev server (or even a production server, this won't break anything). Then, click around the web app on your dev server (or let the users do it on your production server).

Now look at the list of cached files in your cache admin page. If a file isn't listed as being cached by your opcode cache, there's a good chance it isn't being loaded by anything.

This isn't a whole solution, but if each directory has 10 index.php files (e.g. index.php, index2.php, etc.), at least you'll know which one is being used by your app.

Answer 4

Other folks on this thread have great advice. I've been in this situation too. Probably everyone at one time in their career walked into a project that looks like it was hit by a tornado.

One suggestion I'd add is that before you do any of the cleanup described by other folks, you need to get management buy-in.

• Make a plan based on suggestions on this thread.
• Describe any new hardware or software you'll need to create a development & testing environment, and price these out.
• Figure out which new skills you need to be trained on to set up and use the development & testing environment. Estimate the time and expenses required for you to get those skills. E.g. books or paid training.
• Estimate a work schedule for you to do the cleanup. How long to get the code under source control? How long to understand the database? How long to understand the PHP and javascript code?
• Present this to your manager, and phrase the goal in terms of benefit to his bottom line. E.g. once everything is cleaned up, making changes or rolling out new functionality will be quicker, debugging errors will be more predictable, and ramping up new staff will be easier.

Naturally you need to continue to work with the current mess, because it's a live site. Managing the live site takes priority, so cleanup work must be a background task. That means it'll take even longer. My experiences cleaning up a moderate-sized project as a background task have usually taken six to twelve months. Since the site will continue to evolve over this period, some of your completed cleanup tasks may need to be revised or re-done. Make sure your manager understands all this too.

If the manager balks at your plan to clean up this mess, or doesn't value cleaning it up, at least then you'll know why all the other developers have left this company!

I have a few specific suggestions about how to proceed:

• In addition to all the other great advice, I'd suggest using the Joel Test as a benchmark. Your plan for cleanup should result in a job environment that would score well on the Joel Test.
• Read my answer to "What are the best ways to understand an unfamiliar database?"
• Enable logging on the website so you can analyze which PHP pages are actually being called. At least that tells you which of index2.php, index3.php, index4.php, etc. are truly obsolete.
• PHP has a function get_included_files() that returns an array of all files included during the current request. By logging this information, you can find out which PHP files are in use, even if they don't show up in the web server log.
• You really do need to have a testing & development environment that matches your production server. It's no good to test on Windows and deploy on Linux. It's no good to use MySQL 5.0 during development and MySQL 4.0 in production. You can probably get away with a hardware platform that is more modest (though compatible).

Answer 5

You definitely need a development environment. If you don't want to mess with running the site on your windows box, you could grab a VMWare image of some Linux distro.

Answer 6

The first thing I would do is set up a testing environment using a virtual machine of some sort. VirtualBox or Virtual PC would be fine choices. That way you can start changing things without fear of breaking the production environment. No matter how much work this seems like it will be (with the database and web server and everything), in the end it will be worth it. One of the great benefits is you can copy the VM and give it to somebody else, if you find you need assistance.