Question

If you had a function in a class such as:

public function insertItemToTable($item){
   $sql = query("insert to table {$item}");
   $insertId = sql_inserted_id();
}

Which item would you return?

1. Would you return true/false for the function and set a class variable to the inserted id (e.g. $this->insertedItem = sql_insert_id())
2. Return the value of the inserted id

Answer 1

In your example, you can do both.

<?php
public function insertItemToTable($item){
   if ($sql = query("insert to table {$item}")) {
       return sql_inserted_id();
   }
   return false;
}

It’s easy to test for it in your code:

<?php
if (false !== ($id = $obj->insertItemToTable($item)) {
    // it was inserted, $id is the new id
} else {
    // it failed and returned false
}

It’s a common pattern that people use, e.g.

<?php
if ($r = mysql_query('SELECT * FROM mytable')) {
    while ($rs = mysql_fetch_array($r)) {
        //....
    }
}

Ultimately, it’s a preference thing, and no one right way to do it.