Tell a PHP Class to always run it's constructor when it is extended

Question

From what I understand, when a PHP Class is extended, it's constructor is not called? So in the below, the method Options_Page_Template->on_enqueue_scripts() is never actually run -

class Options_Page_Template{

    function __construct(){ 

        /** Enqueue scrips and styles for use in this plugin */
        add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', array(&$this, 'on_enqueue_scripts'));

    }

    function on_enqueue_scripts(){

        { do Whatever here }

    }

}

class Options_Home extends Options_Page_Template{

    function __construct(){ 

        { Add various actions here }

    }


}

Is there a way of telling Options_Page_Template() to always run it's own __constructor() when it is extended? I know I can use parent::__construct(), but that involves adding the code to all the files that extend the Class.

I also tried the the old-school method of giving the constructor the same name as the Class, but PHP is obviously more clever than that, as it did not work. Thanks.

Answer 1

There's no way. A good rule of thumb for all your code, is to always call parent::__construct for every subclass that overrides the constructor; and explicitly comment within the constructor if you are not, and why.

In general, for functions and con/destructors, if you override something; you are also responsible for calling the parent function.