Opening/closing tags & performance?

Code clear as day: Readability matters

Before getting knee-deep in performance optimization, consider code maintainability and readability. Clear, understandable code gives future devs — and your future self — a beautiful gift of understanding. It also makes performance bottlenecks easier to spot.

Profiling: Knowing is half the battle

Before making any performance-influenced decisions, profilе your code. Tools like xdebug or microtime(1) can single out exact performance issues. More often than not, the culprit isn't the syntax, but data manipulation.

Modern browsing: More capable than you think!

Modern browsers parse HTML remarkably efficiently, so an increase in tag count hardly hits overall performance. When deciding between performance and readability, remember there's always need for a balance.

Decoupling code with template engines

For better performance, try using template engines. By separating business logic from presentation, your code becomes more organized. This not only enhances readability and maintainability, but can also indirectly improve performance by making bottlenecks easier to locate.

Divide and conquer: Handling complex logic

Large complex tasks can affect performance. Break them down into smaller, manageable tasks. Organize your code with loops and clear task divisions. This will keep your code efficient and effective.

Beat in the rhythm: Data processing over syntax

Data processing rules the performance roost over syntax. Prioritize efficient data handling, especially with large data sets, asynchronous operations, and API interactions. Things like string concatenation are less likely to affect performance.

Perfection isn't the goal; balance is

Perfect performance isn't always necessary nor practical. Striking a balance between performance and other factors such as user experience, feature development, and code maintenance is key.