Question

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PHP class instantiation. To use or not to use the parenthesis?
Omission of brackets and parameter-less object constructors

With or without the brackets, the new Class seems not bother. So, I doubt what’s the usage of the brackets (). I searched php manual, didn’t get it. Could anybody explain?

Answer 1

The purpose of the brackets is for you to enter any arguments that your constructor may accept.

class Example{

    private $str;

    public function __construct($str){
        $this->str = $str;
    }

    public function output(){
        echo $this->str;
    }

}

$ex = new Example; // missing argument error
$ex = new Example('Something');
$ex->output(); // echos "Something"

If your class constructor does not accept any arguments, you may leave the brackets out. For good code sake, I always keep the brackets, whether or not the constructor accepts any argument.

Most coders coming from C# or Java background would keep the parenthesis as it is more familar to them.