Question

Sorry if this is basic, I am trying to learn as much as I can about OO in PHP and I am slowly learning how to use it (very limited).

So I am wanting to know if __autoload() has any affect on PHP opcode cache’s?

Answer 1

(Disclaimer : I only know APC)

What an opcode cache do is :

• when a file is included/required, it take the full path to that file
• check if the opcodes corresponding to that file are already in RAM (in opcode cache)
  • if yes, return those opcode so they are executed
  • if no, load the file and compile it to opcodes ; and store opcodes in cache.

The important point, here, is the entry point : the full path to the file.

What autoloading generally do is :

• get the name of a class
• transform it to the name of a file
• include/require that file

So, the informations that are relevant for the opcode cache (full path to the file, and the fact that it is included/required) are still here.

In consequence, autoload shouldn’t bring any trouble with op code caching.

(And, when using APC, it doesn’t, as far as I can tell)