Working with classes in PHP

Question

Let's say I have got the following class:

class Test
{
    function __construct()
    {
        // initialize some variable

        $this->run();
    }

    function run()
    {
        // do some stuff

        $this->handle();
    }

    function handle()
    {
    }
}

Normally I would create an instance like:

$test = new Test();

However I don't really need the $test anywhere since the functions in the class do all the work once and after that I won't need the instance of the class anymore.

What should I do in this situation or should I just do: $test = new Test();

I hope it makes sense what I'm trying to say if not please tell me.

Answer 1

They should probably be static functions, if they don't require an instantiated instance:

class Test
{
    private static $var1;
    private static $var2;

    // Constructor is not used to call `run()`, 
    // though you may need it for other purposes if this class
    // has non-static methods and properties.

    // If all properties are used and discarded, they can be
    // created with an init() function
    private static function init() {
        self::$var1 = 'val1';
        self::$var2 = 'val2';
    }

    // And destroyed with a destroy() function


    // Make sure run() is a public method
    public static function run()
    {
        // Initialize
        self::init();

        // access properties
        echo self::$var1;

        // handle() is called statically
        self::handle();

        // If all done, eliminate the variables
        self::$var1 = NULL;
        self::$var2 = NULL;
    }

    // handle() may be a private method.
    private static function handle()
    {
    }
}

// called without a constructor:
Test::run();