use $this->member for non-static members, use self::$member for static members.

Full Answer

Here is an example of correct usage of $this and self for non-static and static member variables:

<?php
class X {
    private $non_static_member = 1;
    private static $static_member = 2;

    function __construct() {
        echo $this->non_static_member . ' '
           . self::$static_member;
    }
}

new X();
?>

Here is an example of incorrect usage of $this and self for non-static and static member variables:

<?php
class X {
    private $non_static_member = 1;
    private static $static_member = 2;

    function __construct() {
        echo self::$non_static_member . ' '
           . $this->static_member;
    }
}

new X();
?>

sample PDO and how work for db connection

<pre>
 <?php 
class DB {

    private $host;
    private $user;
    private $pass;
    private $dbase;
    private $connection;

    public function __construct($host,$user,$pass,$dbase)
    {
        $this->host = $host;
        $this->user = $user;
        $this->pass = $pass;
        $this->dbase = $dbase;
        $this->connection = new PDO("mysql:host=$this->host;dbname=$this->dbase", $this->user, $this->pass);
    }
    public function connect()
    {
        return $this->connection;
    }
    public function close()
    {
        unset($this->connection);
        return true;
    }
}
$dbh = new DB('localhost','root','','inventory');
$result  = $dbh->connect()->query("SELECT * FROM products")->fetchAll(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC);
print_r($result);
?>
</pre>

How __construct work on Class

<?php
 
/*

Magic Methods in OOP

To make the use of objects easier, PHP also provides a number of magic methods, or special methods that are called when certain common actions occur within objects. This allows developers to perform a number of useful tasks with relative ease.

Using Constructors and Destructors
When an object is instantiated, it's often desirable to set a few things right off the bat. To handle this, PHP provides the magic method __construct(), which is called automatically whenever a new object is
created.

For the purpose of illustrating the concept of constructors, add a constructor to MyClass that will output a message whenever a new instance of the class is created:

*/



class MyClass
{
  public $prop1 = "I'm a class property!";
 
  public function __construct()
  {
      echo 'The class "', __CLASS__, '" was initiated!<br />';
  }
 
  public function setProperty($newval)
  {
      $this->prop1 = $newval;
  }
 
  public function getProperty()
  {
      return $this->prop1 . "<br />";
  }
}
 
// Create a new object
$obj = new MyClass;
 
// Get the value of $prop1
echo $obj->getProperty();
 
// Output a message at the end of the file
echo "End of file.<br />";
 



 /*

Note — __CLASS__ returns the name of the class in which it is called; this is what is known as a magic constant. There are several available magic constants, which you can read more about in the PHP manual.

Reloading the file in your browser will produce the following result:

1
2
3
The class "MyClass" was initiated!
I'm a class property!
End of file.