Can anyone tell me what is the differnce between:
class Test {
public $var; // I know this can be accessed from outside...
public function __construct($var) {
$this->var = $var; // This
$this->new_var = $var; // And this ... ? this is only internal like I would write private $new_var; ?
}
public function echoVar() {
echo $this->new_var;
}
}
There actually won't be any fundamental difference between those two - if you write to an undeclared property in PHP (from either inside or outside the class), it will dynamically create a new public property. So given the following script:
<?php
class Test {
public function __construct() {
$this->foo = 'foo';
}
}
$test = new Test;
echo $test->foo;
you'll get the output foo. See https://eval.in/632326.
In short, properties need to be explicitly declared as private or protected if you want to hide them.
You can also implement the magic methods __get and __set on your class in order to better deal with calls to read or write dynamic properties. See the manual page on overloading for more information.
I'll add comment lines to specifiy each variable.
class Test {
public $var; // I know this can be accessed from outside...
//Variable/property that can be accessed from outside the class like you mentioned.
public function __construct($var) {
$this->var = $var; // This
//$this calls a non static method or property from a class, in this case the property `public $var`
$this->new_var = $var; // And this ... ? this is only internal like I would write private $new_var; ?
//Creates a new public property in the Test class
}
public function echoVar() {
echo $this->new_var;
//echo the property new_var from Test class.
}
}
Explanation in comments
class Test {
public $var; // This is a member variable or attribute.
// Something that this class has access to
// and any of its sub-children
public function __construct($var) {
$this->var = $var; //If you mean $this then it is
// the current instance of this class see below
//If you mean $var it is a the parameter that
//is passed to the method. See below as well
$this->new_var = $var; // update: this adds a public member to the object
// essentially another $var just not easily known.
// Not sure a good use for this except confusion and chaos.
// If it were just $new_var then it is a
// scoped variable in this method
}
}
Example of $this and parameters
$testPony = new Test("pony"); //An instance of test with a parameter of pony
$testUnicorn = new Test("unicorn"); //An instance of test with a parameter of unicorn
echo $testPony->var . "<br>";
echo $testUnicorn->var . "<br>";
echo $testPony->new_var . "<br>";
echo $testUnicorn->new_var . "<br>";
echo "<pre>";
var_dump($testPony);
The above would output this:
pony
unicorn
I like pony
I like unicorn
object(Test)#49 (3) {
["var"]=>string(4) "pony"
["new_var"]=>string(11) "I like pony"
}
As a note the end dump only show public members if there were private ones it would be in the format (assume private $foo) ["foo":"Test":private]=>NULL
Related
It's possible to extend classes during runtime, and I've been playing around with it a bit, but then I stumbled upon this, which to me is strange. If I define a new variable in a private function it becomes a public variable. Shouldn't it at least be protected?
Here's the code that I've used to test this:
class FooBar {
public function FooBar() {
$this->t();
}
public function createVariable() {
$this->NewVar();
}
private function NewVar() {
$this->iam = "Hello you!";
}
private function t() {
$this->T = "ballad";
return $this->T;
}
}
$fb = new FooBar();
echo $fb->T;
echo "<br/>";
var_dump($fb);
$fb->createVariable();
echo $fb->iam;
echo "<br/>";
var_dump($fb);
echo "<br/>";
$fb->outer = "okay";
echo $fb->outer;
And as an extra, since it's possible to extend a class during runtime why isn't this possible:
function foo() {
private $this->anewvar = 0; //private is illegal.
}
PHP allows variables to be instantiated at any time without explicitly defining them.
But since you haven't defined the variable explicitly, PHP doesn't know how you want it to be scoped, and it has no way for you to tell it either, so it just goes with the safest possible option and makes it public.
If you want it scoped privately, define it as a private variable in the class definition.
I'm new to PHP and practicing using static variables. I decided to grab an example that I learnt from C++ and re-write it for PHP (example from the bottom of this article).
There's a class with two private variables (one static), a constructor and a get-method. The constructor assigns the static variable's value to the second private variable, and then increments.
<?php
class Something
{
private static $s_nIDGenerator = 1;
private $m_nID;
public function Something() {
$m_nID = self::$s_nIDGenerator++;
echo "m_nID: " . $m_nID . "</br>"; //for testing, can comment this out
}
public function GetID() {
return $m_nID;
}
}
// extra question:
// static variable can be assigned a value outside the class in C++, why not in PHP?
// Something::$s_nIDGenerator = 1;
$cFirst = new Something();
$cSecond = new Something();
$cThird = new Something();
echo $cFirst->GetID() . "</br>";
echo $cSecond->GetID() . "</br>";
echo $cThird->GetID() . "</br>";
?>
Using the echo test in line 9 to see if m_nID is getting a value I see:
m_nID: 1
m_nID: 2
m_nID: 3
But these values are not being returned by the "->GetID()" calls. Any ideas why?
Edit: both replies so far have solved this, I wish I could "check" them both, so thank you! I'll leave the original code in the question as-is for any future people who have a similar problem
Your background in C++ led up to this issue, which is an easy mistake to make. In PHP, all instance (or object) variables are referenced using $this->, and static (or class) variables with self::. Based on your code:
public function GetID() {
return $m_nID;
}
Access to the private variable $m_nID should be scoped like this:
public function GetID() {
return $this->m_nID;
}
And inside your constructor:
$m_nID = self::$s_nIDGenerator++;
It should have been:
$this->m_nID = self::$s_nIDGenerator++;
Q & A
Why is there no need to put $ before m_nID when using $this->
The above two ways of referencing instance and class variables come with a very different kind of syntax:
$this is the instance reference variable and any properties are accessed using the -> operator; the $ is not repeated for the property names themselves, although they're present in the declaration (e.g. private $myprop).
self:: is synonymous to Something:: (the class name itself); it doesn't reference an instance variable and therefore has no $ in front of it. To differentiate static variables from class constants (self::MYCONST) and class methods (self::myMethod()) it's prefixed with a $.
Extra
That said, $this->$myvar is accepted too and works like this:
private $foo = 'hello world';
function test()
{
$myvar = 'foo';
echo $this->$foo; // echoes 'hello world'
}
class Something{
private static $s_nIDGenerator = 1;
private $m_nID;
public function Something() {
$this->m_nID = self::$s_nIDGenerator++;
}
public function GetID() {
return $this->m_nID;
}
}
It is interesting to note the difference between using self::$s_nIDGenerator on a static variable vs using $this->s_nIDGenerator on a static variable, whereas $this-> will not store anything.
If I have an instance in PHP, what's the easiest way to get to a static property ('class variable') of that instance ?
This
$classvars=get_class_vars(get_class($thing));
$property=$classvars['property'];
Sound really overdone. I would expect
$thing::property
or
$thing->property
EDIT: this is an old question. There are more obvious ways to do this in newer
PHP, search below.
You need to lookup the class name first:
$class = get_class($thing);
$class::$property
$property must be defined as static and public of course.
From inside a class instance you can simply use self::...
class Person {
public static $name = 'Joe';
public function iam() {
echo 'My name is ' . self::$name;
}
}
$me = new Person();
$me->iam(); // displays "My name is Joe"
If you'd rather not
$class = get_class($instance);
$var = $class::$staticvar;
because you find its two lines too long, you have other options available:
1. Write a getter
<?php
class C {
static $staticvar = "STATIC";
function getTheStaticVar() {
return self::$staticvar;
}
}
$instance = new C();
echo $instance->getTheStaticVar();
Simple and elegant, but you'd have to write a getter for every static variable you're accessing.
2. Write a universal static-getter
<?php
class C {
static $staticvar = "STATIC";
function getStatic($staticname) {
return self::$$staticname;
}
}
$instance = new C();
echo $instance->getStatic('staticvar');
This will let you access any static, though it's still a bit long-winded.
3. Write a magic method
class C {
static $staticvar = "STATIC";
function __get($staticname) {
return self::$$staticname;
}
}
$instance = new C();
echo $instance->staticvar;
This one allows you instanced access to any static variable as if it were a local variable of the object, but it may be considered an unholy abomination.
classname::property;
I think that's it.
You access them using the double colon (or the T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM token if you prefer)
class X {
public static $var = 13;
}
echo X::$var;
Variable variables are supported here, too:
$class = 'X';
echo $class::$var;
You should understand what the static property means. Static property or method is not for the objects. They are directly used by the class.
you can access them by
Class_name::static_property_name
These days, there is a pretty simple, clean way to do this.
<?php
namespace Foo;
class Bar
{
public static $baz=1;
//...
public function __toString()
{
return self::class;
}
}
echo Bar::$baz; // returns 1
$bar = new Bar();
echo $bar::$baz; // returns 1
You can also do this with a property in PHP 7.
<?php
namespace Foo;
class Bar
{
public static $baz=1;
public $class=self::class;
//...
}
$bar = new Bar();
echo $bar->class::$baz; // returns 1
class testClass {
public static $property = "property value";
public static $property2 = "property value 2";
}
echo testClass::$property;
echo testClass::property2;
I trying to learn OOP and I've made this class
class boo{
function boo(&another_class, $some_normal_variable){
$some_normal_variable = $another_class->do_something();
}
function do_stuff(){
// how can I access '$another_class' and '$some_normal_variable' here?
return $another_class->get($some_normal_variable);
}
}
and I call this somewhere inside the another_class class like
$bla = new boo($bla, $foo);
echo $bla->do_stuff();
But I don't know how to access $bla, $foo inside the do_stuff function
<?php
class Boo
{
private $bar;
public function setBar( $value )
{
$this->bar = $value;
}
public function getValue()
{
return $this->bar;
}
}
$x = new Boo();
$x->setBar( 15 );
print 'Value of bar: ' . $x->getValue() . PHP_EOL;
Please don't pass by reference in PHP 5, there is no need for it and I've read it's actually slower.
I declared the variable in the class, though you don't have to do that.
Ok, first off, use the newer style constructor __construct instead of a method with the class name.
class boo{
public function __construct($another_class, $some_normal_variable){
Second, to answer your specific question, you need to use member variables/properties:
class boo {
protected $another_class = null;
protected $some_normal_variable = null;
public function __construct($another_class, $some_normal_variable){
$this->another_class = $another_class;
$this->some_normal_variable = $some_normal_variable;
}
function do_stuff(){
return $this->another_class->get($this->some_normal_variable);
}
}
Now, note that for member variables, inside of the class we reference them by prefixing them with $this->. That's because the property is bound to this instance of the class. That's what you're looking for...
In PHP, constructors and destructors are written with special names (__construct() and __destruct(), respectively). Access instance variables using $this->. Here's a rewrite of your class to use this:
class boo{
function __construct(&another_class, $some_normal_variable){
$this->another_class = $another_class;
$this->some_normal_variable = $another_class->do_something();
}
function do_stuff(){
// how can I access '$another_class' and '$some_normal_variable' here?
return $this->another_class->get($this->some_normal_variable);
}
}
You need to capture the values in the class using $this:
$this->foo = $some_normal_variable
I need to have a variable that only one function can write (let's call that function a) and that only one other function can read (let's call that function b). Is that possible?
You could use a static variable:
function foo($val=null) {
static $var = null;
if (!is_null($var)) $var = $val;
return $val;
}
Here $var is only visible inside the function foo and is maintained throughout multiple calls:
foo(123);
echo foo(); // 123
foo(456);
echo foo(); // 456
Or use a class with a private member and access/modify it with public methods:
class A {
private $var;
public function setVar($val) {
$this->var = $val;
}
public function getVar() {
return $this->var;
}
}
With this the private member var is only visible to a particular instance of this class:
$obj1 = new A();
$obj1->setVar(123);
$obj2 = new A();
$obj2->setVar(456);
echo $obj1->getVar(); // 123
echo $obj2->getVar(); // 456
If you make the member static, then there is just one for the class instead of for each instance:
class A {
private static $var;
public function setVar($val) {
self::$var = $val;
}
public function getVar() {
return self::$var;
}
}
$obj1 = new A();
$obj1->setVar(123);
$obj2 = new A();
$obj2->setVar(456);
echo $obj1->getVar(); // 456
echo $obj2->getVar(); // 456
You can use a static abstract class.
abstract class Settings
{
private static var $_settings = array();
public static function get($key,$default = false)
{
return isset(self::$_settings[$key]) ? self::$_settings[$key] : $default;
}
public static function set($key,$value)
{
self::$_settings[$key] = $value;
}
}
Example Usage:
Settings::set('SiteName',`SomeResult`);
echo Settings::get('SiteName');
Since 5.3.0, you can use anonymous functions as closures. The advantage here, is that you can hold on to b... which is returned by a... and fire it off when you're ready:
<?php
function a()
{
// Only a() can write to $myVar
$myVar = 42;
$b = function() use ($myVar)
{
// $b can read $myVar
// no one else can
return $myVar;
};
return $b;
}
// get $b
$test = a();
// use $b
echo $test();
?>
Another solution before 5.3.0, but here a has to fire b which may not be that practical:
You can simply create an internal variable and pass it as an argument. You can do this inside a class, or just inside simple functions:
function a()
{
// ...
// Write the variable that
// only this function can write to
$thisVar = 1;
b($thisVar);
//...
}
function b($myVar)
{
// ...
// Do stuff w $myVar, a copy of $thisVar
// Changing $myVar has no effect on $thisVar
//
}
Do you mean friend functions? Because I'd love to be able to do that. So far I haven't found an easy way though (although you could try using Reflection, but that seems like way to much effort).
For me, it usually hasn't been an issue of maintaining data integrity / encapsulation, but of keeping the list of public methods (which is kinda like a class's API) free of clutter. A perfect framework should be easy to use, have obvious function names etc etc etc. Methods intended for use by a single other method really mess things up. The "solution" I've taken to is prefixing those function names by one or two underscores and writing "intended for internal use only" or something to that extent in the comments.