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

1. Before Commit: Auto-run this skill on all modified PHP files
2. During Code Review: Validate pull requests
3. CI/CD Pipeline: Automated standards checking
4. IDE Integration: Real-time validation

References

• Moodle Coding Style
• PSR-12 Extended Coding Style
• Moodle Code Checker