PHP Cookbook

7.1. Instantiating Objects

Problem

You want to create a new instance of an object.

Solution

Define the class, then use new to create an instance of the class:

class user {
    function load_info($username) {
       // load profile from database
    }
}

$user = new user;
$user->load_info($_REQUEST['username']);

Discussion

You can instantiate multiple instances of the same object:

$adam = new user;
$adam->load_info('adam');

$dave = new user;
$dave->load_info('adam');

These are two independent objects that happen to have identical information. They’re like identical twins; they may start off the same, but they go on to live separate lives.

See Also

Recipe 7.5 for more on copying objects; Recipe 7.6 for more on copying objects by reference; documentation on classes and objects at http://www.php.net/oop.