PHP and MySQL - Constants, Function, Best Practices? -

i've been using php , mysql years now, never in formal setting. use streamline things @ work, , have programmed lot of own commercial websites, i'm not employed programmer, , never have been. i'm looking start doing freelance work though, , i'm wondering of best practices are.

i use getter class retrieve data mysql, , setter class enter data mysql, pass connection class. every mysql table , field name has own constant defined in constants include file. though, enter constant directly setter or getter classes, rather passing them variable. makes life easier , quicker way, defy understanding of function within class being should independent.

just clear, example of do:

constants.inc.php

define('table_name','table_name'); 

dbase_getters.class.php

public function get_data($connection){     $query = "select * " . table_name;     $result = $connection etc... } 

or should doing this?

dbase_getters.class.php

public function get_data($connection, $table_name){     $query = "select * " . $table_name;     result = $connection etc... } 

it seems lot more hassle passing variable, because if want change parameters of function adding new field search, have find every instance of function calls , change them, whereas if use constants, need add them function.

also, when comes things declaring constants, i've used single-quotes. when create strings, use double-quotes. being inconsistent, , should use 1 type of quote time?

thanks!

you can, of course, both ways , think both equally undesirable. dynamically creating sql strings both difficult secure , error prone.

i suggest try 1 of many readily available libraries out there, example:

http://www.doctrine-project.org/

http://propelorm.org/

those called "orm" - object relational mappers. in achieving - believe - trying do.

there other approaches out there, once used pear db (mdb2 now, http://pear.php.net/package/mdb2) isn't high level orm. design problems.

database access common problem solve , many people have done before, use found out , don't reinvent wheel! try using orm. it's satisfying , comes more naturally handling sql, rows, resultsets , connection objects.