Constructor Return Type

[devonzara]

We've discussed this on IRC, but I'll put it here as a reminder as I'm sure you're busy.

Constructors should return void, this can be observed in two ways quite easily.

• If you call the __construct() method manually, you do not get an instance of the object.
• If you try new Class()->chainMethod() it will not work, if it returned self, it'd be instantly chainable. However, if you try (new Class())->chainMethod() it will work as that's essentially the same as assigning it to a variable, except without the lingering pointer.

Related JetBrains Topic

[boenrobot]

AFAIK, new Class()->chainMethod() isn't calling the constructor and then calling it's "chainMethod" method.

It's instead calling a function named "Class" with no argument, and then on its returned value (assumed to be an object) calls a "chainMethod" method. The return value of "chainMethod" is then treated as the name of a class to instantiate (i.e. call its constructor).

That said, yes. __construct() without a @return should be equivalent to @return void.