Automatic object append - php

Question

I created a class which generates queries based on arguments I feed it via PHP object chaining. Select, insert, update and delete all define $this->query so nothing is left over from previous calls.
Here is an example, keeping in mind that where() might be succeeded by order(), limit(), etc.
$tQuery->select('id', 'users')
->where('email', '=', $email)
->end();
All end() does is append a ; to the SQL statement and returns it as a string, so it seems a bit intrusive using it in every single call.
public function end()
{
$this->query .= ';';
return $this->query;
}
Is there a way (magic method or otherwise) I can automatically do this each time I call the class so I don't require this method every time?
$tQuery->select('id', 'users')
->where('email', '=', $email);
i.e. "You're not asking me for any more methods, I'll just return what I have with a ; at the end"

Answer 1

I guess that the result of end() is used by some pdo to execute the final query. This means, you need a string-presentation of your query-object in the end. Here, php's type-casting may come in handy. There is a magic method available for objects when using them as string, __toString()
Consider this example:
<?php
echo $tQuery->select('id', 'users')
->where('email', '=', $email)
->end();
Now, add a __toString() method to your class:
public function __toString()
{
return $this->end();
}
And you may rewrite the above to
<?php
echo $tQuery->select('id', 'users')
->where('email', '=', $email);
This works for any object that is used in a string-context, e.g. this also triggers __toString():
<?php
$sqlString = (string)$tQuery->select('id', 'users')
->where('email', '=', $email);