Let's say I have a class file called smallBox.php:
<?php class SmallBox { public function boxMethod() {} } I then include the smallBox.php file into another class using 'require':
<?php class BigBox { public function __construct() { require 'smallBox.php'; $box = new SmallBox(); $box->boxMethod(); } } ?> I am new to PHP OOP and MVC and was wondering if including smallBox.php in the BigBox class is considered bad practice?
Instead of manually require-ing PHP files, you should use autoloading of classes. Basically, it's a mechanism of loading appropriate PHP files based on a class name.
Use required_once and include_once. Use include structure before class declaration
include_once 'path/to/class/a.php'; class B extends A { public function __construct() { // your code } } That will work, but remember when you include or require other files, those files variables will operate within the scope of where it's included. I once tried to emulate javas import behavior with a "loader" class, but ran into this issue as the classes I was loading weren't available outside of that main class' scope. Check the manual for more clarity.
