Question

Currently, I am creating a script that will parse information out of a certain type of report that it is passed to it. There is a part of the script that will pull a students information from the report and save it for later processing.

Is it best the hold it in the form of a class, or in an array variable? I figure there are 3 methods that I could use.

EDIT: Really, the question comes down to does any one way have any sort of performance advantage? Because otherwise, each method is really the same as the last.

As a class with direct access to variables:

class StudentInformation {

    public $studentID;
    public $firstName;
    public $lastName;
    public $middleName;
    public $programYear;
    public $timeGenerated;

    function StudentInformation(){} 
}

As a class with functions:

class StudentInformation {

    private $studentID;
    private $firstName;
    private $lastName;
    private $middleName;
    private $programYear;
    private $timeGenerated;

    function StudentInformation(){}

    public function setStudentID($id)
    {
        $this->studentID = $id;
    }

    public function getStudentID()
    {
        return $this->studentID;
    }

    public function setFirstName($fn)
    {
        $this->firstName = $fn;
    }

    /* etc, etc, etc */
}

Or as an array with strings as keys:

$studentInfo = array();
$studentInfo["idnumber"] = $whatever;
$studentInfo["firstname"] = $whatever;
$studentInfo["lastname"] = $whatever;
/* etc, etc, etc */

Answer 1

1. Trying to optimize the use of an array vs. a simple value object is probably an unnecessary micro-optimization. For the simplest cases, an array is faster because you don’t have the overhead of constructing a new object.

2. It’s important to remember this: array is NOT the only data structure that exists. If you don’t need the hash capabilities, a simple SplFixedArray^docs will result in lower memory overhead and faster iteration once you get past the initial overhead of object creation. If you’re storing a large amount of data the aforementioned fixed array or one of the other SPL data structures are likely a better option.

3. Finally: value objects should be immutable, so in your case I would strongly recommend the encapsulation afforded by an object over the ability to assign hash map values willy-nilly. If you want the simplicity of using the array notation, have your class implement ArrayAccess^docs and get the best of both worlds. Some would suggest magic getters and setters with __get and __set. I would not, as magic generally obfuscates your code unnecessarily. If you really really need magic, you might reconsider your design.

There’s a reason why the OOP paradigm is recognized as the best programming paradigm that we’ve come up with — because it’s the best paradigm we’ve come up with. You should use it. Avoid falling into the trap of many/most PHP devs who use arrays for everything.