CODEWITHSUNDEEP
phpoopclass
Peter
Peter

Reputation: 21

When and why should I use class in php?

I want to know when and why should I use class in php, I read at php.net that a class contains variables (we write var before them) and functions for these variables, so why not use regular functions ? I mean what does class do ?

and thank you.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 2879

Answers (3)

Stephen
Stephen

Reputation: 18964

Using a class allows you to encapsulate and re-use code. Here's an example (PHP 5):

class car {
    public $color;
    public function __construct($color) {
        $this->color = $color;
    }
    public function show_off() {
        return 'This car is ' . $this->color;
    }
}

// And now I can re-use the code elegantly:
$car_one = new car('blue');
$car_two = new car('red');
$car_thr = new car('yellow');

echo $car_one->show_off(); // This car is blue
echo $car_two->show_off(); // This car is red
echo $car_thr->show_off(); // This car is yellow

I must say that, like you—when I was still very green—I felt like OOP was a solution in search of a problem. But, after diving in and using it, eventually it clicked.

Objects, in their simplest form, are like containers of logic and data that you can pass around. This can be very advantageous.

And yet, I remember my mindset when I first started learning OOP. The above example would not click. The only way to appreciate it is to use it. Once you do, you'll be very glad you did.

Upvotes: 2

John Parker
John Parker

Reputation: 54425

Often suggested advantages to using an Object Oriented Programming (i.e.: OOP aka: class based) approach instead of traditional procedural programming are that OOP aids maintainability and provides a clearer separation of concerns (in the main due to the fact that an object is effectively a set of data and the operations that related to that data), although well constructed procedural code won't necessarily be significantly worse than a OOP approach.

Irrespective, I'd be tempted to take a look at the discussion over on: simple explanation PHP OOP vs Procedural? as I suspect this will answer many of your questions.

That said, it's worth bearing in mind that there's never a "one size fits all" approach, and sometimes a mix of both procedural and OOP is ideal.

Also, if you're a beginner to PHP (or programming in general) sometimes OOP (especially large frameworks like Zend) can initially seem overwhelming, but it's often worth the effort getting to know them. (It'll pay dividends down the line.)

As a final point, I'd personally say that OOP is generally more of a "systems thinking" approach, in that large systems generally break down (reasonably) naturally into objects. From the perspective of someone who's been using OOP for too many years to mention, I'd also say that it's at the very least worthy of some serious investigation. (The Wikipedia entry is as good a place to start as any.)

Upvotes: 6

GolezTrol
GolezTrol

Reputation: 116100

Classes are a convenient way to group data and functionality. You could make a class to contain person information. Then, if you want a list of persons, you can make an array and put in it an instance of the class for each person. You fill the variables of the instances with data for the persons. This looks a lot like a two dimensional array (like an array of array of persondata), but it is more. You can build functions that are contained in the class that operate on the variables in the class. You could hide functions and variables from outside, so when you're building a framework you can distinguish between internal and external functionality.

And then, there is not even spoken about inheritance, which gives you even more possibilities.

All of this can be done in procedural code as well, but OOP (for Object Oriented Programming, which is programming using classes) gives you a whole new view on structuring your code.

Many big books have been written about this subject, so it is impossible to describe the exact details and possibilities in this post. All I can tell you is that you should give it a try, keep trying a while during the initial frustrations you'll encounter. And then, when someone else asks you this question, you'll advise them the same thing. :)

Upvotes: 0

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