What is better stdClass or (object) array to store related data?

Question

I have been using arrays to store related fields during a long time. If I wanted to have related user fields, I used:

$user = array(
   'id' => 27
   'name' => 'Pepe'
);

But lately, I've been working a lot with objects, and I like it more to use $user->id instead of $user['id'].

My question: To achieve an object oriented style, you may use stdClass:

$user = new stdClass();
$user->id = 27;
$user->name = 'Pepe';

or casting from an array

$user = (object) array(
  'id' => 27
, 'name' => 'Pepe'
);

Is one of them better than the other, in order of performance and style, or can you use whatever you want indistinctly?

Thanks!

Update: I agree with all the comments, this is not OOP at all, is just about having related data grouped into a structure. My $user example is not the best, because it's a typical example of using classes with method, properties, blablabla... I asked because I have a lot of config structures, such us "initTable", and I want something like:

$table => page => init => 1
               => end  => 25
          sort => field => name
               => order => asc

and so on, and I want to know what is better to get init page:

$table->page->init **OR** $table['page']['init']

Answer 1

Based on small test (http://phpfiddle.org/lite/code/cz0-hyf) I can say that using "new stdClass()" is about 3 times slower than other options.

It is strange, but casting an array is done very efficiently compared to stdClass.

But this test meters only execution time. It does not meter memory.

P.S. I used phpFiddle only to share code. Test were done at my local PC.

Answer 2

Try investigate the issue, here a test doing each 1.000.000 times each :

$start = microtime(true);
for ($i=0;$i<1000000;$i++) {
    $user = new stdClass();
    $user->id = 27;
    $user->name = 'Pepe';
}
$end = microtime(true);
echo $end - $start;

echo '<br><br>';

$start = microtime(true);
for ($i=0;$i<1000000;$i++) {
    $user = (object) array(
        'id' => 27, 
        'name' => 'Pepe'
    );
}
$end = microtime(true);
echo $end - $start;

reports

0.75109791755676
0.51117610931396

so - appearently, in this particular case - casting from array is the fastest way to do it. Beats stdClass with many percent. But I wouldnt count on it as a general universal rule or law.