Posted by Gerard Samuel on 01/17/05 22:01

Jochem Maas wrote:

> Jason Barnett wrote:
>
>> Gerard Samuel wrote:
>>
>
> ...
>
>>
>> I haven't checked the source on this one so I can't guarantee that
>> what I've said above is true, but I believe it to be true. Someone
>> correct me if I'm wrong (wouldn't be the first time ;)
>
>
> seems to me like you 'on the money'.
>
> I just wanted to add that IMHO use of __autoload() is over rated (too
> much magic is not alway a good thing) in the general case, i.e. use it
> for specific types of classes like dataobject classes that are
> generated on the fly - but don't use it as a catchall handler


__autoload() *is* a bit quirky. And I agree its not a catchall handler.
So far its not too bad, but I'll see as time progresses.

>
> If you are using Exception classes and other 'framework' type classes
> then I would suggest that a set of require_once statements in a global
> file will:
>
> a, suffice
> b, make things more managable (i.e. includes are explicit)
>
> if there is a speed issue with not using __autoload() then it might
> still be worth only implementing __autoload() for general/all cases if:
>
> a, sqeezing out a few microseconds is _really_ needed
> b, your client (if you have one!) is willing to compensate you for the
> countless hours of code profiling and speedmeasuring required to
> increase speed thru optimization ;-)

[Back to original message]