PSR-12 Moodle Compliance Skill

Automatic Activation Triggers

This skill activates automatically when:

• Writing or editing PHP files in Moodle plugin directories

• User mentions "code standards", "PSR-12", "phpcs", or "coding style"

• Discussions about refactoring or code quality

• After implementing new Moodle functions or classes

Moodle-Specific PSR-12 Rules

Core Principle

Moodle follows PSR-12 with specific exceptions for legacy compatibility.

Naming Conventions (EXCEPTIONS to PSR-12)

Classes

// ❌ PSR-12 Standard (PascalCase) class FolderBrowser {}

// ✅ Moodle Standard (lowercase_with_underscores) class folder_browser {}

Functions & Methods

// ❌ PSR-12 Standard (camelCase) public function getUserData() {}

// ✅ Moodle Standard (lowercase_with_underscores) public function get_user_data() {}

Variables

// ❌ PSR-12 Standard (camelCase) $userData = [];

// ✅ Moodle Standard (lowercase_with_underscores) $user_data = [];

Frankenstyle Naming (REQUIRED)

All functions, classes, and namespaces must include component prefix:

// ❌ Missing component prefix function get_folder_contents() {} class folder_browser {}

// ✅ With frankenstyle prefix function mod_nextcloudfolder_get_folder_contents() {} class mod_nextcloudfolder_folder_browser {}

PSR-12 Rules FOLLOWED by Moodle

1. Indentation: 4 spaces

// ✅ Correct function example() { if ($condition) { do_something(); } }

2. Line Length: 180 characters max (Moodle extends PSR-12's 120)

// ⚠️ Moodle allows up to 180 characters per line $result = $DB->get_record_sql('SELECT * FROM {table} WHERE field1 = ? AND field2 = ? AND field3 = ?', [$param1, $param2, $param3]);

3. Opening Braces: Same line for control structures

// ✅ Correct if ($condition) { // code }

// ✅ New line for functions/classes function my_function() { // code }

4. Namespaces

// ✅ Correct namespace with frankenstyle namespace mod_nextcloudfolder\local;

class helper { // ... }

5. Use statements

// ✅ One per line, alphabetically sorted use mod_nextcloudfolder\local\api; use mod_nextcloudfolder\local\helper;

Validation Workflow

Step 1: Read Current Code

Use Read tool to examine PHP file

Step 2: Identify Violations

Check for:

• camelCase naming → lowercase_with_underscores

• Missing frankenstyle prefixes

• Incorrect indentation (not 4 spaces)

• Lines exceeding 180 characters

• Missing or incorrect PHPDoc blocks

• Improper brace placement

Step 3: Run phpcs

Moodle code checker

vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=moodle path/to/plugin/

Or use dev helper if available

./dev.sh check

Step 4: Apply Fixes

Automatic fixes:

vendor/bin/phpcbf --standard=moodle path/to/plugin/

Manual fixes: Use Edit tool for:

• Renaming violations

• Adding frankenstyle prefixes

• Fixing complex structural issues

Step 5: Verify

Rerun phpcs to confirm clean

vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=moodle path/to/plugin/

Common Violations & Fixes

1. camelCase Function Names

// ❌ Before function getUserFolders($userid) { return $DB->get_records('folders', ['userid' => $userid]); }

// ✅ After function mod_nextcloudfolder_get_user_folders($userid) { return $DB->get_records('nextcloudfolder', ['userid' => $userid]); }

2. Missing PHPDoc

// ❌ Before function get_folders() { // ... }

// ✅ After /**

• Get all folders for current user.
• @return array Array of folder objects */ function mod_nextcloudfolder_get_folders() { // ... }

3. Class Naming

// ❌ Before class FolderApi { // ... }

// ✅ After namespace mod_nextcloudfolder\local;

/**

• Folder API helper class.
• @package mod_nextcloudfolder
• @copyright 2024 Your Name
• @license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later */ class folder_api { // ... }

4. Indentation Issues

// ❌ Before (2 spaces or tabs) function example() { if ($condition) { do_something(); } }

// ✅ After (4 spaces) function example() { if ($condition) { do_something(); } }

5. Long Lines

// ❌ Before (>180 chars) $result = $DB->get_record_sql('SELECT * FROM {table} WHERE field1 = ? AND field2 = ? AND field3 = ? AND field4 = ? AND field5 = ?', [$param1, $param2, $param3, $param4, $param5]);

// ✅ After (split logically) $sql = 'SELECT * FROM {table} WHERE field1 = ? AND field2 = ? AND field3 = ? AND field4 = ? AND field5 = ?'; $params = [$param1, $param2, $param3, $param4, $param5]; $result = $DB->get_record_sql($sql, $params);

Output Format

After validation and fixes:

✅ PSR-12 Moodle Compliance Check

File: mod/nextcloudfolder/lib.php Status: ✅ PASSED (or ❌ FAILED)

Issues Fixed:

• ✓ Renamed getUserData() → get_user_data()
• ✓ Added frankenstyle prefix to class folder_browser
• ✓ Fixed indentation (27 lines)
• ✓ Added missing PHPDoc blocks (5 functions)
• ✓ Split 3 lines exceeding 180 characters

Remaining Issues: 0

Next: Run vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=moodle mod/nextcloudfolder/ to verify.

Integration with Development Workflow

• Before Commit: Auto-run this skill on all modified PHP files

• During Code Review: Validate pull requests

• CI/CD Pipeline: Automated standards checking

• IDE Integration: Real-time validation

References

• Moodle Coding Style

• PSR-12 Extended Coding Style

• Moodle Code Checker