Connection Class problem

[Shabalaka]

Hi all

I have been using Procedural PHP for quite some time now and decided to take the plunge into using Classes for the re-usability factor and typing

"SELECT * FROM `table`"

in every page gets rather tiresome. lol

So i figured i would try to create a class to perform the following things.
1: Connect to a database
2: Find the db
3: Run a query ( got tired of typing "mysql_query" in every page)
4: Display a query

The following class i have at the moment but as im real new to Classes i was wondering if someone could either
A: Point me to a good tutorial for achieving these things.
B: Help me solve this problem with some little explanations as to why im receiving a T_FUNCTION error message.

The Code

<?php 
///Make a connection to the database.
class Connection{

///Declare connection variables.
var $host = "localhost";
var $username = "root";
var $password = "";
var $database = "ClassTest";

	function ConnectToServer(){
		$connect = mysql_connect($this->$host,$this->$username,$this->$password);
			if (!$connect){
				echo "Unable to connect to Host!";
			}else{
				echo "Connection Established";
				///Connection established now find the db.
				//ConnectToDatabase();
			}
	}

	function ConnectToDatabase(){
		$selectdb =  mysql_select_db($this->$database,$this->$connect);
		if(!selectdb){
			echo "<li>Could not find database!</li>";
		}else{
			echo "<li>DB FOUND!</li>";
		}



	}

}

?>

This is what i have in my index.php

<?php 
include_once('ConnectionClass.php');
$connection = new Connection();
?>

Many Thanks Shab

[NogDog]

First question, are you using PHP5? If so, you can use the MySQLi or PDO database extensions, which are already object oriented. (You can also make use of prepared statements with them.)

[Shabalaka]

Yes i am using PHP 5.2

But im unclear as to what you mean by using the pre-made statements 🙂

Sorry to be a complete beginner at OOP based PHP , Thank you for your prompt reply 🙂

Am currently working through tutorials on OOP at killerphp.com as i dont expect people to explain every little detail to me 🙂

[NogDog]

I asked about the PHP5 in part because I noted that the code you posted looked like PHP4 code (using the "var" keyword, for instance, which is still supported, but in PHP5 is normally replaced by a visibility keyword).

I would suggest looking for tutorials that stress PHP5 OOP, as it is much enhanced over that of PHP4. A couple tutorials that you might look at for basic syntax and such are:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-phpobj/
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-advphpobj/

You might also benefit by starting with a little background theory, such as http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/concepts/ (while Java-centric, it's still wholly applicable to PHP except for the syntax details of a few examples).

If interested in going the MySQLi and/or PDO route and learn about prepared statements, I don't know off-hand of any good tutorials, but there is certainly a lot of info in the manual: [man]MySQLi[/man], [man]PDO[/man].

[Shabalaka]

Thanks for the links i will be sure to look over them. 🙂

I managed to get that connection script working and had it insert a new user to a database as well, Would you mind checking it over for me and tell me if its "proper"OOP or should a user have its own class seperate from the connection script ?

Thanks again for the reply 🙂

Ah yes i been reading about visibility ( Variable Access as i like to call it ) lol
In my own terms this is how i think about the visibility of variables.
Private ( Meaning only the class its called in can access it )
Public ( Meaning all classes and subfunctions can access it via $this->)
Protected ( Meaning only the function its sent to can access it )

Please tell me if this is wrong thoughts on the visibility subject as i like to put these things into basic terms and when you read some of the tutorials on visibility its not too clear in laymans terms for real beginners like me 🙂