Question

Please consider this example. (PHP)

class Database{  
    private $result;  
    private $conn;

    function query($sql){  
        $result = $this->conn->query($sql);  
        // Set the Database::$result ?? Or return the value and avoid setting property?  
        return $result;
        // $this->result = $result;  
    }  
}

what are the advantages of both these methods? Where are they applicable?

Answer 1

Your recent comments indicate that you will only be keeping a single result set around at a time. This being the case, I would suggest saving it to the object itself (as a data member of the object).

Also, since you are only keeping around a single result set, you might rename your class to something more descriptive. “Database” doesn’t quite summarize it. It is a “ResultSet”. If it’s a particular type of result set consider naming it so it reflects the type of data you are fetching.