PHP5. Two ways of declaring an array as a class member

Question

When declaring an array as a class member, which way should it be done?

class Test1 {
    private $paths = array();

    public function __construct() {
                 


        

Answer 1

If you are going to populate your array dynamically during initialization, do it in the constructor. If it contains fixed values, do it in the property declaration.

Trying to populate an array dynamically (e.g. by using the return value of a certain function or method) within the declaration results in a parse error:

// Function call is not valid here
private $paths = get_paths();

Performance is not a real concern here as each has its own use case.