Pros of PHP-CS-Fixer

• Focuses specifically on code style fixing and formatting
• Provides a wide range of predefined coding standards (PSR-1, PSR-2, Symfony, etc.)
• Offers an extensive set of fixers for various coding style issues

Cons of PHP-CS-Fixer

• Limited to code style fixing and doesn't provide advanced code analysis capabilities
• May require more configuration to achieve desired results compared to PHP-Parser

Code Comparison

PHP-CS-Fixer (fixing code style):

$fixer = new PhpCsFixer\Fixer\ClassNotation\VisibilityRequiredFixer();
$file = new SplFileInfo('example.php');
$tokens = Tokens::fromCode(file_get_contents($file->getRealPath()));
$fixer->fix($file, $tokens);

PHP-Parser (parsing and analyzing code):

$parser = (new ParserFactory)->create(ParserFactory::PREFER_PHP7);
$ast = $parser->parse(file_get_contents('example.php'));
$nodeFinder = new NodeFinder();
$methods = $nodeFinder->findInstanceOf($ast, Node\Stmt\ClassMethod::class);

PHP-CS-Fixer is primarily designed for code style fixing and formatting, offering a wide range of predefined standards and fixers. It's excellent for maintaining consistent coding styles across projects. PHP-Parser, on the other hand, provides a powerful toolkit for parsing PHP code into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST), enabling advanced code analysis and manipulation. While PHP-CS-Fixer is more focused on style, PHP-Parser offers greater flexibility for complex code analysis tasks.

Pros of PHPStan

• Focuses on static analysis and error detection in PHP code
• Provides more advanced type inference and checks
• Offers a wider range of rules and customization options

Cons of PHPStan

• Steeper learning curve for configuration and usage
• May produce false positives in certain scenarios
• Requires more setup and integration effort

Code Comparison

PHP-Parser (parsing PHP code):

$parser = (new ParserFactory)->create(ParserFactory::PREFER_PHP7);
$ast = $parser->parse('<?php echo "Hello World!";');

PHPStan (analyzing PHP code):

$phpstan = PHPStan\analyseFiles(['path/to/file.php'], $configuration);
$errors = $phpstan->getErrors();

Summary

PHP-Parser is primarily a tool for parsing PHP code into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST), while PHPStan is a static analysis tool that uses the AST to perform advanced code checks and error detection. PHP-Parser is more focused on providing a foundation for other tools, whereas PHPStan offers a complete solution for code analysis out of the box. Both tools serve different purposes in the PHP ecosystem and can be complementary in certain workflows.

Pros of Psalm

• Focuses on static analysis and type checking, providing more comprehensive code quality insights
• Offers a wider range of checks and analysis features, including security vulnerability detection
• Integrates well with popular IDEs and CI/CD pipelines for seamless workflow integration

Cons of Psalm

• Has a steeper learning curve due to its more complex configuration options
• May produce more false positives, requiring fine-tuning of configuration
• Slower performance on large codebases compared to PHP-Parser

Code Comparison

PHP-Parser (parsing PHP code):

$parser = (new ParserFactory)->create(ParserFactory::PREFER_PHP7);
$ast = $parser->parse('<?php echo "Hello World!";');

Psalm (analyzing PHP code):

$config = Config::loadFromXMLFile('psalm.xml');
$project_analyzer = new ProjectAnalyzer($config, new \Psalm\Internal\Provider\FakeFileProvider());
$project_analyzer->check('src');

While PHP-Parser focuses on parsing PHP code into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST), Psalm uses this AST to perform static analysis and type checking, providing more in-depth code quality insights.

Pros of Phan

• Focuses on static analysis and error detection in PHP code
• Provides more comprehensive code analysis and type checking
• Offers a wider range of checks and can detect more potential issues

Cons of Phan

• Steeper learning curve and more complex configuration
• May produce more false positives, requiring fine-tuning
• Slower performance due to its extensive analysis capabilities

Code Comparison

PHP-Parser (parsing PHP code):

$code = '<?php echo "Hello, world!";';
$parser = (new ParserFactory)->create(ParserFactory::PREFER_PHP7);
$ast = $parser->parse($code);

Phan (analyzing PHP code):

$config = new Config([
    'directory_list' => ['src/'],
    'minimum_severity' => Issue::SEVERITY_LOW,
]);
$phan = new Phan($config);
$phan->analyzeFiles();

Summary

PHP-Parser is primarily focused on parsing PHP code and generating an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST), making it useful for tasks like code transformation and analysis. Phan, on the other hand, is a static analyzer that leverages PHP-Parser's capabilities to perform in-depth code analysis, detect potential errors, and enforce coding standards. While PHP-Parser is more lightweight and flexible, Phan offers more comprehensive code analysis at the cost of increased complexity and potential false positives.

Pros of Rector

• Provides automated refactoring and upgrading capabilities for PHP code
• Includes a large set of predefined rules for common PHP upgrades and best practices
• Offers a more user-friendly interface for code transformation tasks

Cons of Rector

• Has a steeper learning curve for creating custom rules compared to PHP-Parser
• May have slower performance when processing large codebases due to its higher-level abstractions

Code Comparison

PHP-Parser (parsing and modifying code):

$parser = (new ParserFactory)->create(ParserFactory::PREFER_PHP7);
$ast = $parser->parse($code);
$traverser = new NodeTraverser();
$traverser->addVisitor(new class extends NodeVisitorAbstract {
    public function leaveNode(Node $node) {
        if ($node instanceof Node\Expr\Variable && $node->name === 'foo') {
            return new Node\Expr\Variable('bar');
        }
    }
});
$modifiedAst = $traverser->traverse($ast);

Rector (applying a rule):

use Rector\Renaming\Rector\Variable\RenameVariableRector;
use Rector\Config\RectorConfig;

return static function (RectorConfig $rectorConfig): void {
    $rectorConfig->rule(RenameVariableRector::class);
};

Both PHP-Parser and Rector are powerful tools for working with PHP code, but they serve different purposes. PHP-Parser provides low-level AST manipulation, while Rector offers high-level code refactoring capabilities built on top of PHP-Parser.