class flexibleAccess{ var $dbName = 'mydatabase'; class flexibleAccess{ var $dbName = $_SESSION['mydatabase']; class flexibleAccess{ private $dbName; function __construct() { $this->dbName = $_SESSION['mydatabase']; } } constant("DBNAME", 'mydatabase'); require_once 'dbconfig.php'; class flexibleAccess { private $dbname; // set the default database name to the constant DBNAME // but allow override public function __construct ( $dbname = DBNAME ) { $this->dbname = $dbname; } } require_once 'flexibleaccess.php'; $db = new flexibleaccess(); dbName = $_SESSION['mydatabase']; ?>