Question

So what really happens when someone say ‘new’ in PHP

I believe in C/Java, when new is called, memory is allocated for each instance variables that are needed for an object? (correct me if i am wrong)

Is this the same with PHP?

Answer 1

When you use $var = new Class

• a new object is created (memory allocated and initialized);
• its constructor, if any, is called;
• the object is put into a list of objects and given a unique id;
• a new zval container¹ is created, this container stores, inter alia, the id of the object;
• the variable $var is associated with this created zval container.

¹ Definition of what’s a zval container.