(codeigniter/Neo4j) PHP : namespace and autoloader - php

Question

As i'm trying to install the Neo4jPHP library in codeigniter (v2.2.x), i'm having annoying issues regarding namespaces. I've been searching for 4 hours without success.
In short, there is a libraries directory in which Neo4jPHP must be copied. So in 'libraries/', there is a directory 'Everyman/Neo4j/', which contains all the Neo4j php classes.
Also, in the same 'libraries' directory, there is a class with an autoloader function, which aims at loading the Neo4j classes (which are in 'Everyman/Neo4j/').
Inside of 'libraries'
- libraries/
|-- Everyman/
|-- Neo4j/
|-- Client.php
|-- some_other_classes.php
|-- Neo4j.php
Then, somewhere in my code, in the global namespace, i try to instantiate the class client :
$client = new Client();
But i get the error Class 'Client' not found.
In the class client, the following namespace is specified : Everyman\Neo4j.
I'm must admit that i found 2 workarounds for this issue :
From the calling code, use the fully qualified name :
new Everyman\Neo4j\Client();
Or, in Client.php, remove the namespace.
In these 2 cases, it works. However, i would like to call the Client class with these 2 condition :
1. I don't want to modify anything from the Neo4jPhp library.
2. I really don't want to have to use the fully qualified name (Everyman\Neo4j\Client). I want to use "new Client()".
Do you guys have an idea how i could achieve this (yes, i don't have a very deep understanding of namespaces, and loaders).
In Neo4j.php (file with loader)
<?php
class Everyman{
public function __construct()
{
spl_autoload_register(array($this,'autoload'));
}
public function autoload($sClass){
$sLibPath = __DIR__.DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR;
//Below, i modified the instruction so that the class file
//can be found. However, the class is not found.
$sClassFile = 'Everyman'.DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'Neo4j'.str_replace('\\',DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR,$sClass).'.php';
$sClassPath = $sLibPath.$sClassFile;
if (file_exists($sClassPath)) {
require($sClassPath);
}
}
}
So that's it. I think i've given you all the information i have. If no one can help me, i'll have to use 'new Everyman\Ne4j\Client();' (which works).
It may seem stupid to ask for help, as i already have found 2 workarounds, but i really want to learn how to properly handle this issue (if possible).
Thanks.

Answer 1

It seems code like $client = new Everyman\Neo4j\Client('localhost', 7474); is the offical usage: https://github.com/jadell/neo4jphp#connection-test
So it is not work around.
I really don't want to have to use the fully qualified name (Everyman\Neo4j\Client). I want to use "new Client()".
I don't know what you really want. But then how about putting the code below in your code which you use Everyman\Neo4j\Client:
use Everyman\Neo4j\Client;
and
$client = new Client();
See http://php.net/manual/en/language.namespaces.importing.php

Answer 2

The supported way of installing neo4jphp is using Composer (https://getcomposer.org/). It is a good idea to learn how to use Composer, since a large number of PHP libraries can be installed using it. It also sets up the autoloading for you, so you don't have to worry about paths and namespaces yourself.
If you don't want to write new Everyman\Neo4j\Client() every time, you can put a use statement at the top of your script: use Everyman\Neo4j\Client; and then new Client();

Answer 3

Thank you for your answers.
For some reason, the 'use Everyman\Neo4j\Client' command didn't work, and i decided not to perform further inquiry into this issue.
So i decided to stick with the call to '$client = new Everyman\Neo4J\Client();', instead of trying to achieve '$client = new Client();'.
Thank you for your propositions.
Loïc.