Best way to do multiple constructors in PHP?

Question

You can't put two __construct functions with unique argument signatures in a PHP class. I'd like to do this: class Student { protected $id; protected $name; // etc. public function __construct($id){ $this->id = $id; // other members are still uninitialized } public function __construct($row_from_database){ $this->id = $row_from_database->id; $this->name = $row_from_database->name; // etc. } } What is the best way to do this in PHP?

Answer 1

Since you're trying to pass different type of data type, I would check the argument if its int, string, array or even an object and complete the logic based on the data type

Example:

class Student {

public function __construct($data) {

if (is_int($data)) {

// Construct from id

} elseif (is_object($data)) {

// Construct from object of row_from_database

}

}

}