PHP allows developers to declare constructor methods for classes. Classes which have a constructor method call this method on each newly-created object, so it is suitable for any initialization that the object may need before it is used.
Note: Parent constructors are not called implicitly if the child class defines a constructor. In order to run a parent constructor, a call to parent::__construct() within the child constructor is required. If the child does not define a constructor then it may be inherited from the parent class just like a normal class method (if it was not declared as private).
Example #1 Constructors in inheritance
<?php
class BaseClass {
function __construct() {
print "In BaseClass constructor\n";
}
}
class SubClass extends BaseClass {
function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
print "In SubClass constructor\n";
}
}
class OtherSubClass extends BaseClass {
// inherits BaseClass's constructor
}
// In BaseClass constructor
$obj = new BaseClass();
// In BaseClass constructor
// In SubClass constructor
$obj = new SubClass();
// In BaseClass constructor
$obj = new OtherSubClass();
?>
Unlike other methods, __construct() is exempt from the usual signature compatibility rules when being extended.
Constructors are ordinary methods which are called during the instantiation of their corresponding object. As such, they may define an arbitrary number of arguments, which may be required, may have a type, and may have a default value. Constructor arguments are called by placing the arguments in parentheses after the class name.
Example #2 Using constructor arguments
<?php
class Point {
protected int $x;
protected int $y;
public function __construct(int $x, int $y = 0) {
$this->x = $x;
$this->y = $y;
}
}
// Pass both parameters.
$p1 = new Point(4, 5);
// Pass only the required parameter. $y will take its default value of 0.
$p2 = new Point(4);
// With named parameters (as of PHP 8.0):
$p3 = new Point(y: 5, x: 4);
?>
If a class has no constructor, or the constructor has no required arguments, the parentheses may be omitted.
Prior to PHP 8.0.0, classes in the global namespace will interpret a method named
the same as the class as an old-style constructor. That syntax is deprecated,
and will result in an E_DEPRECATED error but still call that function as a constructor.
If both __construct() and a same-name method are
defined, __construct() will be called.
In namespaced classes, or any class as of PHP 8.0.0, a method named the same as the class never has any special meaning.
Always use __construct() in new code.
As of PHP 8.0.0, constructor parameters may also be promoted to correspond to an object property. It is very common for constructor parameters to be assigned to a property in the constructor but otherwise not operated upon. Constructor promotion provides a short-hand for that use case. The example above could be rewritten as the following.
Example #3 Using constructor property promotion
<?php
class Point {
public function __construct(protected int $x, protected int $y = 0) {
}
}
When a constructor argument includes a visibility modifier, PHP will interpret it as both an object property and a constructor argument, and assign the argument value to the property. The constructor body may then be empty or may contain other statements. Any additional statements will be executed after the argument values have been assigned to the corresponding properties.
Not all arguments need to be promoted. It is possible to mix and match promoted and not-promoted arguments, in any order. Promoted arguments have no impact on code calling the constructor.
Note:
Object properties may not be typed callable due to engine ambiguity that would introduce. Promoted arguments, therefore, may not be typed callable either. Any other type declaration is permitted, however.
Note:
Attributes placed on a promoted constructor argument will be replicated to both the property and argument. Default values on a promoted constructor argument will be replicated only to the argument and not the property.
As of PHP 8.1.0, objects can be used as default parameter values, static variables, and global constants, as well as in attribute arguments. Objects can also be passed to define() now.
Note:
The use of a dynamic or non-string class name or an anonymous class is not allowed. The use of argument unpacking is not allowed. The use of unsupported expressions as arguments is not allowed.
Example #4 Using new in initializers
<?php
// All allowed:
static $x = new Foo;
const C = new Foo;
function test($param = new Foo) {}
#[AnAttribute(new Foo)]
class Test {
public function __construct(
public $prop = new Foo,
) {}
}
// All not allowed (compile-time error):
function test(
$a = new (CLASS_NAME_CONSTANT)(), // dynamic class name
$b = new class {}, // anonymous class
$c = new A(...[]), // argument unpacking
$d = new B($abc), // unsupported constant expression
) {}
?>
PHP only supports a single constructor per class. In some cases, however, it may be desirable to allow an object to be constructed in different ways with different inputs. The recommended way to do so is by using static methods as constructor wrappers.
Example #5 Using static creation methods
<?php
class Product {
private ?int $id;
private ?string $name;
private function __construct(?int $id = null, ?string $name = null) {
$this->id = $id;
$this->name = $name;
}
public static function fromBasicData(int $id, string $name): static {
$new = new static($id, $name);
return $new;
}
public static function fromJson(string $json): static {
$data = json_decode($json);
return new static($data['id'], $data['name']);
}
public static function fromXml(string $xml): static {
// Custom logic here.
$data = convert_xml_to_array($xml);
$new = new static();
$new->id = $data['id'];
$new->name = $data['name'];
return $new;
}
}
$p1 = Product::fromBasicData(5, 'Widget');
$p2 = Product::fromJson($some_json_string);
$p3 = Product::fromXml($some_xml_string);
The constructor may be made private or protected to prevent it from being called externally. If so, only a static method will be able to instantiate the class. Because they are in the same class definition they have access to private methods, even if not of the same object instance. The private constructor is optional and may or may not make sense depending on the use case.
The three public static methods then demonstrate different ways of instantiating the object.
fromBasicData() takes the exact parameters that are needed, then creates the
object by calling the constructor and returning the result.fromJson() accepts a JSON string and does some pre-processing on it itself
to convert it into the format desired by the constructor. It then returns the new object.fromXml() accepts an XML string, preprocesses it, and then creates a bare
object. The constructor is still called, but as all of the parameters are optional the method
skips them. It then assigns values to the object properties directly before returning the result.
In all three cases, the static keyword is translated into the name of the class the code is in.
In this case, Product.
PHP possesses a destructor concept similar to that of other object-oriented languages, such as C++. The destructor method will be called as soon as there are no other references to a particular object, or in any order during the shutdown sequence.
Example #6 Destructor Example
<?php
class MyDestructableClass
{
function __construct() {
print "In constructor\n";
}
function __destruct() {
print "Destroying " . __CLASS__ . "\n";
}
}
$obj = new MyDestructableClass();
Like constructors, parent destructors will not be called implicitly by the engine. In order to run a parent destructor, one would have to explicitly call parent::__destruct() in the destructor body. Also like constructors, a child class may inherit the parent's destructor if it does not implement one itself.
The destructor will be called even if script execution is stopped using exit(). Calling exit() in a destructor will prevent the remaining shutdown routines from executing.
Note:
Destructors called during the script shutdown have HTTP headers already sent. The working directory in the script shutdown phase can be different with some SAPIs (e.g. Apache).
Note:
Attempting to throw an exception from a destructor (called in the time of script termination) causes a fatal error.