include() in Classes

[BJ Duncan]

G'day to all,

Just learning about classes in PHP. A couple of the methods I hold within a class call upon connecting to a database. Would it be better to use an include() function like this:

<?php
function registerUser($userName, $userPassword) {
          # connect to database
          include('dbsignup.php');
         # select database
         mysql_select_db($this->dbName);
         # Code continues...
?>

Many thanks in advance,


or do I maintain using this:

<?php
function registerUser($userName, $userPassword) {
        # connect to database
        $dbLink = mysql_connect($this->dbHost, $this->dbUser, $this->dbPass);
        if(!dbLink) die("Could not connect to database. " . mysql_error());
        
        # select database
        mysql_select_db($this->dbName);
        
        # Code continues...
?>

[php_daemon]

Use the second option. Although same difference technically, it's the matter of readability. If you're concerned about code duplication, employ OOP (which you say you're up to anyway) for that matter.

[bokehman]

include('dbsignup.php'); 

What is really bad about this from an OOP point of view is your class is tied to your application. Never code static values into classes and functions; feed these values in as arguments.

[SpacePhoenix]

I would move the database connection to it's own class, then use instances of the database class whenever you need to connect to the database.