cli.md

title	subTitle	currentMenu
Command line and scripts	PHP Best practices	php-cli

Use a "Console" component

Intermediate ###Rule

Need to run a PHP script from the command line? Do not execute your PHP files directly. Instead, consider using a "Console" component.

###Explanation

What you should NOT do:

You should avoid accessing scripts by running them directly from the PHP CLI:

my_script.php

#!/usr/bin/php
<?php

// Your PHP script that you run by typing "php my_script.php"

Most developers know they should use a MVC framework with a router component instead of directly accessing PHP files from the web. When working with scripts triggered from the command line (or from a CRON task), the same rule applies!

So instead, rather than directly accessing your scripts using php my_script.php, you should consider using a console component from one of the major frameworks out there.

Why? Because:

• You will write object oriented scripts
• You will get a nice interface to access the command line, including utility functions to:
  • manage options
  • automatically document your script
  • colorize your output

Here are a few console components out there:

• Symfony console component
• Laravel Artisan