An abstract options class. To use, extend this class. All public properties defined for the class will be used as the keys in the options array. Comes with helper functions for updating, etc.

JPB_Options.php

<?php

abstract class JPB_Options {

	/**
	 * The database option name value. Must be declared in extending classes.
	 * @var string
	 */
	protected $_option_name = null;

	/**
	 * An array of all public properties on the option class.
	 * 
	 * Will throw an exception if no public option is declared.
	 * @var array
	 */
	protected $_builtin_properties = array( );

	/**
	 * Object constructor. Does magic.
	 * 
	 * Finds class properties, pulls in option from obj cache/db, installs or upgrades as necessary.
	 * @throws Exception Throws an exception if there are no public properties or if the option_name isn't set.
	 */
	final function __construct() {
		// call_user_func lets us grab properties from the global scope, getting only public properties.
		$properties = call_user_func( 'get_class_vars', get_class( $this ) );
		if( empty( $properties ) ) {
			throw new Exception( 'You must define at least one public variable for ' . get_class( $this ) );
			return;
		}
		$this->_builtin_properties = array_keys( $properties );
		if( !$this->_option_name ) {
			throw new Exception( 'You must define the option name in ' . get_class( $this ) . '::$_option_name!' );
			return;
		}
		$option = get_option( $this->_option_name, array( ) );
		if( !$option || !is_array( $option ) ) {
			$this->_install();
		} elseif( !empty( $this->version ) && !empty( $option['version'] ) && version_compare( $this->version, $option['version'], '!=' ) ) {
			$this->_upgrade( $option );
		} else {
			$this->_assign_vars( $option );
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Assign the object properties that are defined and in the passed options array
	 * @param array $options The array of option values.
	 */
	final protected function _assign_vars( array $options ) {
		foreach( $this->_builtin_properties as $option ) {
			if( array_key_exists( $option, $options ) ) {
				$this->{$option} = $options[$option];
			}
		}
		$this->after_setup();
	}
	
	/**
	 * Runs after '_assign_vars'. Default is a no-op function that may be overridden by extending classes.
	 */
	protected function after_setup(){
		
	}

	/**
	 * Install the option.
	 * 
	 * Since there's no algorithm for every use case, and options may need to assign dynamic
	 * values to some properties, this is an abstract function. It must be defined in all
	 * extending classes. Extending classes may also want to run $this->_assign_vars to set
	 * the newly installed variables on the object's properties. 
	 */
	abstract protected function _install();

	/**
	 * An upgrade function to upgrade the data structure in the database. 
	 */
	abstract protected function _upgrade( array $option );

	/**
	 * Sanitize the object properties before saving to database.
	 * 
	 * This may be overridden if necessary. If not necessary, the default is a no-op function
	 * so it's fine to leave undefined in extending classes. 
	 */
	protected function _sanitize() {
		
	}

	/**
	 * Update the database values from the object's properties.
	 * 
	 * @uses $this->_sanitize()
	 * @uses update_option()
	 * @return bool False if update failed, true if it succeeded
	 */
	final public function update() {
		$this->_sanitize();
		$updatedOptions = array( );
		foreach( $this->_builtin_properties as $property ) {
			$updatedOptions[$property] = $this->{$property};
		}
		$this->after_setup();
		return update_option( $this->_option_name, $updatedOptions );
	}

}