Video Rental Store Project

Overview

This educational project is designed to demonstrate the use of the Strategy Pattern and interfaces in a PHP project. The project is structured into various classes and interfaces, each demonstrating key principles of object-oriented programming and design patterns. For additional information about the Strategy Pattern see this article by refactoring.guru

Strategy Pattern Concept

The Strategy Pattern is a behavioral design pattern that enables selecting an algorithm's runtime behavior. It defines a family of algorithms, encapsulates each one, and makes them interchangeable without altering the client's code. This pattern is used to:

• Separate the behavior (strategy) from the class that uses the algorithm (context).
• Enable the addition of new strategies without modifying the context.

Use of Interfaces and Contracted Concrete Classes

Interfaces in PHP are contracts that define what methods a class should implement. Contracted concrete classes are those that implement these interfaces, providing specific functionality. This approach promotes:

• Loose coupling between classes.
• Flexibility and reusability of code.
• Easier maintenance and extension of the application.

File Structure and Implementation

• Classification.php: Demonstrates different classification strategies. Each class represents a unique strategy with a common interface.
• Customer.php: Represents a client that uses various strategies. Interacts with other classes based on the Strategy Pattern.
• Movie.php: An example of a context class that can use different classification strategies.
• Rental.php: Another context class, showing how different strategies can be applied in various scenarios.
• Statement.php: Focuses on generating statements, possibly using different formats or structures as strategies.
• StatementFormatter.php: Illustrates different formatting strategies for statements.
• StatementGenerator.php: An example of a class that could use various strategies to generate different types of statements.
• Index.php: The entry point of the application, demonstrating how the Strategy Pattern is initialized and utilized.

Usage of the Strategy Pattern in This Project

1. Define Strategy Interfaces: Each strategy has a corresponding interface defining the methods it must implement.
2. Implement Strategies: Concrete classes implement these interfaces, providing specific algorithmic behavior.
3. Context Class: A class that uses a strategy, which can be set at runtime, allowing the class's behavior to change dynamically.

Educational Purpose

This README aims to provide insights into the implementation of the Strategy Pattern and the use of interfaces in PHP, showcasing a practical example that can be used for learning and teaching purposes.

Unit Tests

To run the unit tests ensure the dependencies are installed and run this command: ./vendor/bin/phpunit --testdox tests