__construct() vs method with same name as class

Question

I have recently started php and was wondering the differences between __construct() and having a method with the same name as the class?

Is there a reason for using it? All I can work out is it overrides the method named Foo or is it down to which you prefer?

E.g.

class Foo {

    function Foo()
    {
       echo 'Foo stated<br>';
    }

    function __construct() {
       echo 'Construct started<br>';
    }
}

Thanks

Answer 1

Using __construct() is the newer PHP5 more OOP focused method to call a constructor. Using a method with the same name as the class is the old deprecated way to do it, and it will not function as a constructor as of PHP 5.3.3 for namespaced classes.

From the constructors and destructors page:

For backwards compatibility, if PHP 5 cannot find a __construct() function for a given class, it will search for the old-style constructor function, by the name of the class. Effectively, it means that the only case that would have compatibility issues is if the class had a method named __construct() which was used for different semantics.

Unlike with other methods, PHP will not generate an E_STRICT level error message when __construct() is overridden with different parameters than the parent __construct() method has.

As of PHP 5.3.3, methods with the same name as the last element of a namespaced class name will no longer be treated as constructor. This change doesn't affect non-namespaced classes.

Answer 2

"if PHP 5 cannot find a __construct() function for a given class, it will search for the old-style constructor function, by the name of the class. Effectively, it means that the only case that would have compatibility issues is if the class had a method named __construct() which was used for different semantics."

Source: http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.decon.php