Different ways to create a Connect Function in a Class? [duplicate] - php

Question

This question already has answers here:
How to properly set up a PDO connection
(5 answers)
Closed 9 years ago.
Okay so I have some what of a dumb question, I've seen tuts and different things on making a CMS and I want to make an oop CMS, and I was wondering if someone could explain to me what the difference was between using one of the two examples?
Ex 1 -
class myClass
{
var $username;
var $password;
public function connect()
{
try {
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=dbname', $this->username,
$this->password);
$pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
return $pdo;
} catch(PDOException $e) {
echo 'Error: ' . $e->getMessage();
}
}
}
// Then to call that function
$obj = new myClass();
$obj->username = "root";
$obj->password = "password";
$pdo = $obj->connect();
// Then run my query down here
Ex 2 -
class database
{
protected $connection = null;
//make a connection
public function __construct($hostname,$dbname,$username,$password)
{
try {
//MySQL with PDO_MYSQL
$this->connection = new PDO("mysql:host=$hostname;dbname=$dbname",
$username, $password);
$this->connection->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE,
PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
} catch (PDOException $e) {
$this->connection = null;
die($e->getMessage());
}
}
}
Or I've even seen people use a __construct then a seperate connect function
So what exactly is the difference? Is there a performance benefit by doing it a particular way? Or is there a way that is more correct than the other or are all three if these incorrect ways of doing it? I haven't found a reliable source to find an answer.

Answer 1

For the most cases 3rd example is the best:
In fact, PDO is already a database class. So, if you have no particular reason to create another on top of it, PDO itelf is just a perfect:
$pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=dbname', $username,$password);
$pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
is all you actually need.

Answer 2

There are no noticeable performance differences between the two.
The second way is preferred by a lot of people because a database object would be kind of useless if it didn't try to connect to a database. Because attempting to connect to a database is so vital to the object's worth / existence, it makes sense to send in the connection details via the constructor so that it can attempt a connection as soon as it is being instantiated. Thus, changing:
$obj = new myClass();
$obj->username = "root";
$obj->password = "password";
$pdo = $obj->connect();
to
$obj = new myClass('localhost', 'root', 'mypassword');