Question

Say I have this class:

class A {
    private
        $var_a,
        $var_b;

    public function do_something(){
        $local_var_a = $this->var_a;

        // ... Lots of use of $local_var_a

        $this->var_a = $local_var_a;
    }

    public function do_something_else(){

        // ... Lots of use of $this->var_a
    }
}

Which function is the ‘better’ one to use and why?

Answer 1

Better is a very ambiguous term. Related to coding in most cases it usually means

• Memory usage – does it eat away your ram?
• Performance – is it fast?
• Usability and Readability – can you (or someone else working on the code) understand whats going on?

The difference in memory usage and performance are very tiny, and I’m no friend of micro-optimization (unless I have too much time at my hands), so I would answer for those two points: it doesn’t matter.

For usability and readability I prefer function do_something_else(), this makes it way easier for me and someone else to understand how the code works, how it can be tested and documented.