PHP Classes load() method good/bad practice?

Question

Just wondering if you could shed some light on best practices?

Would having a load method in a Class be the correct/best way?

Class Test extends Foo{

    public $id;
    public $name;

    public function __construct()
    {
        parent::__construct();

    }

    public function load($id, $name)
    {
        $this->id = $id;
        $this->name = $name;
    }
}

Or would it be concidered better practice to just have the load method logic in the constructor?

Class Test extends Foo{

    public $id;
    public $name;

    public function __construct($id, $name)
    {
        parent::__construct();

        $this->id = $id;
        $this->name = $name;
    }
}

The 2nd option seems to be more logical to me as it's one less method and it's called automatically etc, however, I've seen the 1st option more often. Is there a reason for this? Any help would be appreciated!

Answer 1

The second option is best. A constructor is meant to prepare the object for use. It is the perfect place to initialize properties etc. Unless you have a good reason for using load() instead of the constructor, go with the second example.