Error handling in classes - What is best practice

[mathieso]

Does anyone have opinions about best practices for error handling in PHP classes? I program in Java, ASP, and other languages, but am a PHP newbie.

Suppose I have a class C with a variable V that must be greater than 0:

Class C {

var $V;

function setV(newV) {
if ($newV < 0)  {
	**** WHAT NOW? ****

One approach is to use an error reporting variable that the caller can check:

var $errorMessage;
…
unset($errorMessage);
if ($newV < 0) {
$errorMessage = "V must be greater than zero.";
return;

Do you use/recommend this approach, or is there as better way?

Kieran

[swr]

PHP 4.3.0 reportedly has support for exceptions. Syntax looks very similar to C++/Java, with try/throw/catch. Bunch of other good stuff too. http://www.php.net/ZEND_CHANGES.txt

Unfortunately, 4.3.0 is not officially released yet, but will be very soon. RC4 is available for download right now though. http://www.php.net/

Pre 4.3.0, you have to have your function/method return a value that represents failure and always code the caller to check the return value. Or just die("some descriptive error message") whenever something is obviously wrong. I prefer the latter approach, as it makes it harder for bugs to hide.