Finding the right name for an include that is to be executed before HTML output

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+1 Q:

Finding the right name for an include that is to be executed before HTML output

I am defining naming conventions for a simple plugin framework. For example:

index.php - the main plugin file
info.php - returns an array with plugin information
install.php - self-explanatory

can you think of an elegant, short-hand name for a PHP file that contains the code that is to be executed before any HTML is output? Do any examples from other frameworks come to your mind?

What I have been thinking of:

head.php - misleading, could be mixed up with HTML <head>
before_output.php - clumsy, too long
init.php - not exactly correct
start.php - current favourite

+1 A:

How about prefix.php, preface.php, or prologue.php?

Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams 2010-03-11 15:59:03

Nice, I like *preface*.

Pekka 2010-03-11 16:00:47

Similar to preface is "preamble".

Robert 2010-03-11 16:02:49

or simply "pre"

thetaiko 2010-03-11 16:21:31

+1 A:

what about:

pre_render.php
pre_load.php
pre_output.php
initializier.php

Robert 2010-03-11 16:00:24

+1 A:

I like header.php.

Jacob Relkin 2010-03-11 16:03:09

You can do a lot of things before outputting HTML. What is the file doing? How about

bootstrap.php
setup.php
configure.php
run_before.php
predispatch.php

Gordon 2010-03-11 16:21:09

+1 A:

Coming from a PHP background, I like the idea of prepend.php (and append.php if you have something that must come after everything).

Why is that ? Because of the PHP configuration directives called auto_prepend_file and auto_append_file (quoting) :

Specifies the name of a file that is automatically parsed before the main file.

And

Specifies the name of a file that is automatically parsed after the main file.

But it might not be immediate to get used to those names for someone who doesn't have a PHP background, like someone who mostly works with HTML.

Pascal MARTIN 2010-03-11 17:03:44

My framework uses this kind of structure:

/
|-- layouts
|   |-- layout.header.php
|   |-- layout.footer.php
|-- ...
|-- index.php

Since header and footer can be confusing, I prepend the "layout" prefix to indicate that these files are HTML-based.

"Header" actions (like initializing objects or so) can be placed on something like "app.init.php". (Since I also studied .NET, I'm confortable with the namespace-like filenames, with dot-delimited logical categories).

"index" handles all app/web operations; hence, the program flow. What's between "header" and "footer" files is a page file, that I usually build with templates.

Joel Alejandro 2010-03-11 17:23:54

ansaurus

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Finding the right name for an include that is to be executed before HTML output

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