PHP类应该如何与MySQL数据库交互？

Question

The other day, while developing my PHP project and implementing the User class, i started to wonder how this class should interact with the MySQL database the project is using.

Let me start with an example: let's say I have a getName() method, inside the User class, that returns the user's real name. What's the more fitting way to implement that method?

I came up with 2 solutions:

1. I put the DB query inside the getName() and only get what I need like this:

   public function getName() {
   
       // MySQL query code here
   }
   

2. I create a load() method inside the User class that load all the user data inside the class structure and then the getName() is something like this:

   private $name;
   
   // Load all user data inside the class' structure
   public function load() {
   
       $this->name = // MySQL query here
   }
   
   public function getName() {
   
       return $this->name;
   }
   

I thought, not sure if mistakenly or not, that the first way is more efficient because i only get the data I need, while the second way is more OOP but less efficient.

So, here's the question: what is the better way? Why? Are there better ways?

Answer 1

Either way, consider storing/caching the results of that so you do not make a query every time you use getName on that object. Also, consider not wrrying about all that by using a ORM/DBAL Solution like propel or doctrine.

Also check out Lazy Loading and the Active Record Pattern