Running code in a PHP once - php

I'm trying to write a class in PHP that acts as a wrapper for a collection of command line tools to make them easier to use from PHP.
I have a single class (MyClass) in a file myclass.php.
I have code that checks to see if the required tools are installed and then sets a constant (TOOLS_AVAILABLE) to either true or false. Although it's not a lot of code, I only want it to run the first time somebody tries to instantiate my class or use any of its static functions. What's the best practice for handling this?

I only want it to run the first time somebody tries to instantiate my class or use any of its static functions.
Well, the best answer is not to have any static methods. Then you can stick the code in a constructor method as per the answer by #treegarden.
If you must have static methods, then you'll need a static flag within the class to indicate when you've called the 'run once' code, so you can avoid running it again. And then call it explicitly from each of your static methods and the constructor. Something like this:
<?php
class myClass {
private static $hasRunOnce = false;
private static runMeOnce()
{
if (!self::$hasRunOnce) {
self::$hasRunOnce = true;
//put your 'run once' code here...
}
}
public static oneOfYourStaticMethods()
{
self::runMeOnce();
//put your static method code here...
//this would be the same for each of your static methods and your constructor.
}
}
Hope that helps.

You need to create a __construct function in your class and put whatever code you want to execute on instantiation in there:
class MyClass {
function __construct(/* arguments */) {
/* your code here */
}
}
The code will get executed only once when someone instantiates the class.

Related

Static property of PHP class to keep value until next usage?

I just stumbled over a PHP class and wonder if there was a valid reason for the way one of it's methods is written.
LogUtility::getLogger() is called as a static method in various other PHP classes of the PHP application. Does the used if statement make sense or is $logManager always null when getLogger() is called?
class LogUtility
{
/**
* #var LogManager
*/
protected static $logManager;
/**
* #return Logger
*/
public static function getLogger($name)
{
if (!self::$logManager) {
self::$logManager = GeneralUtility::makeInstance(LogManager::class);
}
return self::$logManager->getLogger($name);
}
}
You could quickly whip up a test, like below, and test / prove it yourself:
class someClass {
protected static $stored;
public static function test() {
echo '<br>Stored state:' . self::$stored;
if ( ! self::$stored) {
self::$stored = "set";
}
}
}
someClass::test();
someClass::test();
Output is:
Stored state:
Stored state:set
So, based on this simple test, the answer is Yes, the if statement makes sense. The static variable is set and maintained.
$logManager is set to a property of the class, so for now, its pretty much an empty class, just returning with a getter, the instance. This just sets the code to just reuse the object. So a bit of recycling code there.
In the class you are now able to play with this object freely. So if you run this LogUtility from another piece of code by setting it to a var, you have already instantiated it. e.g. $util = new LogUtility();now if someone comes along and tries to instantiate it again, $anotherUtil=new LogUtility(); this recycles the class, passing back the already instantiated instance, instead of instantiating a new one.
Therefore, yes, it kept it. Although, the var doesn't contain the "same value" per say, it contains a reference to the "same" class that was instantiated with he other variable, so it ends up a copy of the same instance there.
It will be null for only the first call in a lifecycle. This implements a design pattern called Singleton.
Check out https://sourcemaking.com/design_patterns/singleton/php/1

Can you define a static method outside of a class?

Let's say I have a class:
class test {
public static function sayHi() {
echo 'hi';
}
}
Call it by test::sayHi();
Can I define sayHi() outside of the class or perhaps get rid of the class altogether?
public static function sayHi() {
echo 'hi';
}
I only need this function to encapsulate code for a script.
Maybe the answer is not a static method but a plain function def?
A static method without a class does not make any sense at all. The static keywords signals that this method is identical for all instances of the class. This enables you to call it.. well.. statically on the class itself instead of on one of its instances.
If the content of the method is self-contained, meaning it does not need any other static variables or methods of the class, you can simply omit the class and put the code in a global method. Using global methods is considered a bad practice.
So my advice is to just keep the class, even if it has only that one method within. This way you can still autoload the file instead of having to require it yourself.
Functions in OOP are public by default, you can modify them to private like:
private function test(){
//do something
}
Or like you said, to static, in public or private like:
private static function test(){
//do something
}
But if you're not using OOP, functions by default are global and public, you can't change their access to private. That's not the way they are supposed to works because if you change their type to private, you will NEVER be able to access to that function. Also, static doesn't works because is another property of OOP...
Then, you can simply create that function and access it from everywhere you want (obviously where is available :P because you need to include the file where is stored)

Tell a PHP Class to always run it's constructor when it is extended

From what I understand, when a PHP Class is extended, it's constructor is not called? So in the below, the method Options_Page_Template->on_enqueue_scripts() is never actually run -
class Options_Page_Template{
function __construct(){
/** Enqueue scrips and styles for use in this plugin */
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', array(&$this, 'on_enqueue_scripts'));
}
function on_enqueue_scripts(){
{ do Whatever here }
}
}
class Options_Home extends Options_Page_Template{
function __construct(){
{ Add various actions here }
}
}
Is there a way of telling Options_Page_Template() to always run it's own __constructor() when it is extended? I know I can use parent::__construct(), but that involves adding the code to all the files that extend the Class.
I also tried the the old-school method of giving the constructor the same name as the Class, but PHP is obviously more clever than that, as it did not work. Thanks.
There's no way. A good rule of thumb for all your code, is to always call parent::__construct for every subclass that overrides the constructor; and explicitly comment within the constructor if you are not, and why.
In general, for functions and con/destructors, if you override something; you are also responsible for calling the parent function.
You must always use parent::__construct() if you are createing a __construct in both classes You do have an option to turn it around. You could have your parent class constructor check for the existence of a custom constructor in the child and run it.
<?php
class Options_Page_Template{
function __construct(){
if (method_exists($this,'__beforeconstruct'))
$this->__beforeconstruct();
echo "construct class<br/>";
if (method_exists($this,'__afterconstruct'))
$this->__afterconstruct();
}
function on_enqueue_scripts(){
}
}
class Options_Home extends Options_Page_Template{
function __beforeconstruct(){
echo "Extended class before<br/>";
}
function __afterconstruct(){
echo "Extended class after<br/>";
}
}
new Options_Home();
?>
output:
Extended class before
construct class
Extended class after
You could do something nasty like define your constructor as final and have a protected init method which extended classes can override but I wouldn't recommend it to be honest.
This way if someone tries to write a constructor in a child class they'll get something like:
PHP Fatal error: Cannot override final method A::__construct() in php shell code on line 5
You probably need to look at a different approach to the way you've organised your classes instead.
class Options_Home extends Options_Page_Template{
function __construct() {
parent::__construct(); // Needs to be first line so the rest of the constructor
// can assume the Options_Page_Template has been constructed.
// Various stuff here for Options_home constructor
}
}
Should work.
Just don't define a constructor the for the extending class.

Calling class method from other class (PHP)

I realize this is a common question and I have tried resolving it myself, but after following instructions from other answers I can't get it to work. So, this is the issue - I need to call a method from the class ClassOne in ClassTwo. So I did this:
class ClassOne{
public function methOne($par1,$par2){
mysql_query("insert into ps_loyalty_events (customer_id,event_id) values ('$par1','$par2') ") or die(mysql_error());
}
}
class ClassTwo{
private $customer; //initialize $customer in the constructor, to be defined as an instance of ClassOne() class and used as $this->customer
function __construct() {
$this->customer = new ClassOne();
}
public function methTwo(){
//some stuff here
$this->customer->methOne(6,10); //6,10 - randomly chosen parameters, irrelevant
//some more stuff here, this doesn't get executed at all
}
}
The priblem is not in ClassOne or the method methOne() because calling them directly from a regular PHP file in the following manner works:
$customer = new ClassOne();
$customer->methOne(6,10);
However, when I call it from the ClassTwo method, it does nothing - it just stops the execution of that function. Using try-catch doesn't seem to output anything. What am I doing wrong?
It's because your methTwo is static. When you call a static method of a class, that class is not instantiated into an object, and therefore it doesn't have the $this->customer property.
Unless there is a reason for the static method, you can change methoTwo:
public function methTwo(){
Edit: now that you have fixed that: what makes you think it isn't working? You don't do anything in methOne.
The code given is fine, see this Codepad demo of it working. That means there's some other code that we can't see that's causing the problem.
For simple solution, try to use extend classone in classtwo, so that all the method can user in classtwo by default
class class_two extends class_one
By above all the method of class one will be accessed into class two and can easily use that also. try it

$this->class->function(): how does it work?

I've been programming in PHP for several years and I've only just recently begun to look at object oriented code. Now I understand classes and such:
class Myclass {
public function __construct() {
}
}
and all that good stuff... I also understand creating functions and calling in my index.php:
$someVar = new Myclass;
One thing I've been trying to understand, being that i've recently looked at codeigniter and I like one thing about it and want to try and accomplish the same thing without actually using codeigniter.
in code igniter they have the variable $this appear to be their class variable. But by using that, you're able to call from multiple classes all at once.. such as:
$this->load->module(); which is in one class file..
$this->db->query(); which is in another class file.
I've searched google for the last few days trying to figure out how to do this same thing where each class would have the correlation between them all allowing me to run $this->class_name->function_name in my projects instead of creating a new variable for each class or for the sake of a clean index file, having every function in a single class file.
Any information (aside from buy this book - as that isn't an option for me) is greatly appreciated and I will thank you now (and will probably thank you again later just for good measure).
I've been reading you and Phil's comments. First off, you can't use $this on index.php. $this can only be used in the context of an object. So you could do,
$someVar = new Myclass;
...
$someVar->db->something();
...instead.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "read classes," but you can assign members to MyClass exactly as Phil indicates:
class MyClass {
private $inj;
function __construct(Injected $inj) {
$this->injected = $inj;
}
}
Note that the private $inj declaration is not mandatory, but skipping it is dangerous. Any non-declared members added are automatically public, and this can potentially screw with you if you rely on magical get. I would declare the properties you need.
Finally, you either need to include all class definitions you will use, use a function like load_class(), or use autoloading. If Injected above is not a declared class, you will get an error when trying to create one. load_class() almost certainly includes the class definition somehow.
The load and db references are class properties which are themselves other objects with public module() and query() methods respectively. For example
class MyClass
{
/**
* #var CI_DB
*/
private $db;
/**
* #var Loader
*/
private $load;
public function __construct(CI_DB $db, Loader $load)
{
$this->db = $db;
$this->load = $load;
// PHP also allows you to add arbitrary object properties
// that receive a "public" visibility
// Please note, this is not a good practice
$this->foo = new Foo;
}
public function someMethod()
{
$this->load->module();
$this->db->query();
// You can also use foo even though it is not defined
// in the class properties
$this->foo->something();
}
}
See http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.properties.php
Adding the foo property like we did is dangerous. Because it receives the public visibility, it may be altered externally to the class.
$class = new MyClass($db, $load);
$class->foo = new Bar;
$class->someMethod(); // will break if Bar does not contain a something() method

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