Making Magento flying like a rocket!
A set of valuable tips for developers
Ivan Chepurnyi
Co Owner / Trainer
EcomDev BV

Ivan Chepurnyi
About me
Developers Paradise
• Technical Consultant, Co-owner at EcomDev B.V.
• Was one of the first five developers in original Magento core
team
• Providing trainings and coaching Magento Developers in
Europe
• Main areas of my expertise:
– System Architecture
– Performance Optimization
– Test Driven Development
– Complex Customizations

Ivan Chepurnyi
Lecture Overview
Developers Paradise
• Common Developer Mistakes
• Tips for regular Magento Stores
• Dealing with high loaded projects

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #0
Developers Paradise
Developing a store without turning on flat
version of products and categories

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #1
Developers Paradise
Using of model load in the template to
access property that is not available in the
collection

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #1
Developers Paradise
public getMySuperProductAttribute($product)
{
$myProduct = Mage::getModel(„catalog/product‟)->load($product-
>getId());
return $myProduct->getMySuperProductAttribute();
}
Some Helper

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #1
Developers Paradise
<p class=“my-attribute”>
<?php echo $this->helper(„my_helper‟)
->getMySuperProductAttribute($product);?>
</p>
Product List Template

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #1
Developers Paradise
• Usually Affected Models
– Product Model
• Caused by need to access some custom values from
product in lists
– Category Model
• Caused by need to retrieve some custom text attribute
in menu or layered navigation
– Stock Item
• Need to access available stock qty in product listings

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Product Listing
Developers Paradise
// In case of new attribute
$this->addAttribute(„catalog_product‟, „custom_attribute_code‟, array(
// …. your attribute options
“used_in_product_listing” => true
));
// In case of updating existing attribute
$this->updateAttribute(
„catalog_product‟, „customer_attribute_code‟,
„used_in_product_listing‟, 1
);
Your install script

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Category Collection
Developers Paradise
<frontend>
<category>
<collection>
<your_custom_attribute_code />
</collection>
</category>
</frontend>
Your config.xml file

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Category Tree (Flat)
Developers Paradise
<frontend>
<events>
<catalog_category_flat_loadnodes_before>
<class>your_module/observer</class>
<method>addCustomAttribute</method>
</catalog_category_flat_loadnodes_before>
</events>
</frontend>
In your config.xml

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Category Tree (Flat)
Developers Paradise
public function addCustomAttribute($observer)
{
$select = $observer->getSelect();
$attributes = array(„attribute_code1‟,
„attribute_code2‟,
„attribute_code3‟);
Mage::getResourceSingleton(„your_module/observer)
->addAttributesToSelect($select, $attributes);
}
In your Observer

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Category Tree (Flat)
Developers Paradise
public function addAttributesToSelect ($select, $attributes)
{
$select->columns($attributes, „main_table‟);
}
In your Observer Resource

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Stock Item
Developers Paradise
<frontend>
<events>
<catalog_product_collection_load_after>
<class>your_module/observer</class>
<method>addStockItemData</method>
</catalog_product_collection_load_after>
</events>
</frontend>
In your config.xml

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution for Stock Item
Developers Paradise
public function addStockItemData($observer)
{
$collection = $observer->getCollection();
Mage::getSingleton('cataloginventory/stock')
->addItemsToProducts($collection);
}
In your Observer

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #2
Developers Paradise
Using of full collection load where it is not
needed.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Mistake #2
Developers Paradise
public function isCategoryHasSaleableProducts($category)
{
$collection = Mage::getResourceModel('catalog/product_collection');
$collection
->setStoreId(Mage::app()->getStore()->getId())
->addCategoryFilter($category);
Mage::getSingleton('catalog/product_status‟)
->addVisibleFilterToCollection($collection);
Mage::getSingleton('catalog/product_visibility')
->addVisibleInCatalogFilterToCollection($collection);
return $collection->getFirstItem()->isSaleable();
}
Code in block

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solutions
Developers Paradise
• Write a resource model for making query to find this data in
stock and product status tables.
• Write an indexer that will contain information about salable
categories and add this as column to all categories select.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Summary
Developers Paradise
• Always develop with flat version of catalog turned on
• Never use model load on every collection item, there is
always an option to add your custom attribute
• Never use collection to check for something, they are
created to load subset of the data for loading, not for
checking.

Ivan Chepurnyi
If you write your code correctly…
Developers Paradise
It is time to get your hands dirty in core
optimizations!

Ivan Chepurnyi
Regular Store Bottlenecks
Developers Paradise
• Overall Problems
• Category Pages
• Product Pages
• Checkout Pages

Ivan Chepurnyi Developers Paradise
Overall Problems

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #1
Developers Paradise
Non optimized layout handles usage
Magento adds on every category and product page a layout
handle with its entity id, so you have layout cache unique for
each product or category!

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
Add an observer to controller_action_layout_load_before,
check loaded handles and remove items that match starts with
CATEGORY_ and PRODUCT_, except PRODUCT_TYPE.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
public function optimizeLayout($observer)
{
$update = $observer->getLayout()->getUpdate();
foreach ($update->getHandles() as $handle) {
if (strpos($handle, 'CATEGORY_') === 0
|| (strpos($handle, 'PRODUCT_') === 0
&& strpos($handle, 'PRODUCT_TYPE_') === false)) {
$update->removeHandle($handle);
}
}
}
Example of Observer

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #2
Developers Paradise
No cache for CMS Blocks
Magento doesn‟t cache them by default. On average projects
you have up to 10-20 CMS blocks that can be edited by
customer on every page.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
Add an observer to core_block_abstract_to_html_before,
and specify required cache information for the block, like cache
key (that is a block identifier) and cache tags
(Mage_Cms_Model_Block::CACHE_TAG).

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
public function optimizeCmsBlocksCache($observer)
{
if ($block instanceof Mage_Cms_Block_Widget_Block
|| $block instanceof Mage_Cms_Block_Block) {
$cacheKeyData = array(
Mage_Cms_Model_Block::CACHE_TAG,
$block->getBlockId(),
Mage::app()->getStore()->getId()
);
$block->setCacheKey(implode('_', $cacheKeyData));
$block->setCacheTags(
array(Mage_Cms_Model_Block::CACHE_TAG)
);
$block->setCacheLifetime(false);
}
}
Example of Observer

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #3
Developers Paradise
Magento top menu
Since CE 1.7 version of Magento, they moved menu to another
block, but forget to add caching to it. So now each page load
spends from 100-300mson building top menu!
And the more categories you have, the more time is spent!

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
1. Add a cache tags via observer similar to optimization of
CMS blocks. The difference only, that you will need to add
category cache tag instead:
Mage_Catalog_Model_Category::CACHE_TAG
2. Rewrite Mage_Page_Block_Html_Topmenu to add
category id into the menu node class name. Yes, there is no
event for this :(
3. Add JS on the page that will use current category id for
highlighting top menu item.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
public function optimizeNavigationCache($observer)
{
if ($block instanceof Mage_Page_Block_Html_Topmenu) {
$cacheKeyData = array(
Mage_Catalog_Model_Category::CACHE_TAG,
'NAVIGATION',
Mage::app()->getStore()->getCode()
);
$block->setCacheKey(implode('_', $cacheKeyData));
$block->setCacheTags(
array(Mage_Catalog_Model_Category::CACHE_TAG)
);
$block->setCacheLifetime(false);
}
}
Example of Observer

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
protected function _getMenuItemClasses(Varien_Data_Tree_Node $item)
{
$classes = parent::_getMenuItemClasses($item);
// Will be something like category-node-#id
$classes[] = $item->getId();
return $classes;
}
Overridden Block Method

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
JS implementation is up to you.
I believe you can do that yourself :)

Ivan Chepurnyi Developers Paradise
Category Pages & Product Pages

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #1
Developers Paradise
Layered Navigation
For each attribute you have in Magento and that is marked as
filtrable, it will make a call to getAllOptions() of attribute source
model. Even if there is no filter results for it, it will invoke
attribute option collection load.
For merchants who have a lot of attributes, it is a huge
performance bottleneck.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
• Remove collection usage usage for each item by rewriting
Mage_Eav_Model_Entity_Attribute_Source_Table class.
• Implement a static method, that will load values for all
attributes at once. If you will not use objects, it won‟t take too
much memory.
• Override getAllOptions() method to use your static method.
• You can find class by this url: http://bit.ly/mageoption

Ivan Chepurnyi
What it does?
Developers Paradise
// This one will use collection getData() method
// to retrieve array items instead of collection of objects.
Mage::getResourceModel('eav/entity_attribute_option_collection')
->setPositionOrder('asc')
->setStoreFilter($storeId)
->getData();
On the first call to getAllOptions() it will preload all
attribute values for current store in array format.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #2
Developers Paradise
Dropdown Options on Product Page
The problem is the same as with layered navigation, but not
that much visible if you don‟t have too much dropdown
attributes to show. Product getOptionText() uses the same
getAllOptions() method call.
This one is automatically fixed by fixing previous one.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #3
Developers Paradise
Configurable Products
Magento is not using flat version of products for configurable
products children retrieval. So every configurable product page
is a bottleneck, especially for fashion retailers.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
1. Rewrite the class with this long name:
Mage_Catalog_Model_Resource_Product_Type_Configurable_Product_Collection
2. Overriden isEnabledFlat() method that should return the real
information about flat availability.
1. Make sure that attributes, that your customer is using, are
included into the flat version of catalog. Mark them as
“used_in_product_listing”.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
public function isEnabledFlat()
{
return Mage_Catalog_Model_Resource_Product_Collection::isEnabledFlat();
}
Overriden Collection Method

Ivan Chepurnyi Developers Paradise
Checkout Pages

Ivan Chepurnyi
Problem #1
Developers Paradise
Catalog Price Rules
Each time when Magento calls collectTotals() method on
quote object, it walks though all items in the quote and invoked
getFinalPrice() method on your product. This method
dispatches catalog_product_get_final_price event, that is
observed by Mage_CatalogRule module.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
1. Rewrite Mage_CatalogRule_Model_Observer class and
create a new method that will preload rule prices for quote.
2. Define $_preloadedPrices property to cache results per quote
object.
3. Add an observer in configuration for
sales_quote_collect_totals_before event, for original core class
alias, but with the method you‟ve created.
Full observer class can be found at this url: http://bit.ly/magerule

Ivan Chepurnyi
Solution
Developers Paradise
public function beforeCollectTotals(Varien_Event_Observer $observer)
{
// … Omited retrieval of product ids and customer group with website
$cacheKey = spl_object_hash($quote);
if (!isset($this->_preloadedPrices[$cacheKey])) {
$this->_preloadedPrices[$cacheKey] =
Mage::getResourceSingleton('catalogrule/rule')
->getRulePrices($date, $websiteId, $groupId, $productIds);
}
foreach ($this->_preloadedPrices[$cacheKey] as $productId => $price) {
$key = implode('|', array($date, $websiteId, $groupId, $productId));
$this->_rulePrices[$key] = $price;
}
}
Created method code

Ivan Chepurnyi
There are more issues…
Developers Paradise
But it is too much for one presentation :)
Let‟s better talk about high loaded projects!

Ivan Chepurnyi Developers Paradise
Are you using Varnish for your projects?

Ivan Chepurnyi
Varnish Issues
Developers Paradise
Common issues caused by developers, when they use
Varnish on the project
• Developers usually hide poor code quality behind front
cache server
• Doing backend callbacks for functionality that can be fully
done by modern browser in JavaScript.
• Caching static files by Varnish

Ivan Chepurnyi
ESI include is an evil for Magento
Developers Paradise
Only when the content for ESI include can be cached by
Varnish. It doesn‟t make to make ESI includes for shopping
cart, compare and recently viewed reports.

Ivan Chepurnyi
AJAX Callbacks Issue
Developers Paradise
AJAX call should be done only when needed.
Do not perform a bunch of calls just because the data should
be loaded from the server. It is always possible to decrease
amount of calls by using your frontend skills.

Ivan Chepurnyi
Use Cookies & HTML5!
Developers Paradise
• You can always set a custom cookie in Magento when
customer:
– Adds a product to a cart
– Logs in or logs out
– Adds a product to a compare list
• You always can store up to 2Mb of data into sessionStorage
of your visitor browser! Only IE7 doesn‟t support it.

Ivan Chepurnyi
How it can help you?
Developers Paradise
• You can decrease amount of AJAX calls to the number of
real user actions.
– Customer adds product to cart, you make an ajax call to
update session storage
– Customer logs in, you make and ajax call to update the it
again
– Customer adds product to wishlist or compare products
list, you update a session storage.
So in the end it should be1 action – 1 AJAX call,
and NOT 1 page view – 1 AJAX call!

Ivan Chepurnyi
Recently Viewed Products
Developers Paradise
For recently viewed products, you even don‟t need to make any
AJAX calls
– Render a hidden block on the product page
– When customer views a product, add this hidden block to
session storage
– On any other page, just render data by JavaScript!

Ivan Chepurnyi
Conclusion
Developers Paradise
Be smart and use Varnish correctly!

Ivan Chepurnyi
There is more to come…
Developers Paradise
EcomDev is currently working on replacing of Magento flat
catalog with Sphinx search, that will gain incredibly fast
response time for non-cached pages.
Want to learn more about it?
Visit our website:
http://www.ecomdev.org/contact-us
Or email us:
info@ecodmev.org

Ivan Chepurnyi Developers Paradise
Thank You!

Questions?