Modern PHP Shortcuts Every Developer Should Use

1. Null Coalescing Operator (??)

Quickly assign defaults if a variable is unset or null:

$username = $_POST['name'] ?? 'Anonymous'; // No isset() needed!  

2. Array Destructuring

Unpack arrays into variables in one line:

[$firstName, $lastName] = explode(' ', 'John Doe'); // $firstName = 'John', $lastName = 'Doe'  

3. Spaceship Operator (<=>)

Compare values easily (returns -1, 0, or 1):

usort($users, fn($a, $b) => $a['age'] <=> $b['age']); // Sort users by age  

4. Short Ternary (?:)

Quick fallback for falsy values (but careful—unlike ??, it checks for falsy, not just null):

$status = $user->getStatus() ?: 'pending'; // If falsy (e.g., empty string, 0), use 'pending'  

5. Variadic Functions (...)

Accept unlimited arguments effortlessly:

function mergeStrings(...$strings) {  
   return implode(' ', $strings);  
}  
mergeStrings('Hello', 'world', '!'); // "Hello world !"  

Why these?

• Spaceship operator simplifies sorting/comparisons.
• Short ternary is handy (but know its quirks vs ??).
• The rest remain clean, modern, and widely useful.

Good for PHP 7.0+! 🚀

Happy Coding! 😊