Using classes outside of the current directory in PHP - php

Question

I have two folders in my directory:
Plugins
Classes
The Plugins folder contains two files: Sample.php and Plugins.php.
Sample.php is just a class with one function that extends the Plugins class. The Plugins class tries to create a new instance of the base class which is located in the Classes folder.
Plugins/Sample.php:
class Sample extends Plugins {
public $eggs;
public $pounds;
public function __construct() {
$this->eggs = "100";
$this->pounds = "10";
}
public function OnCall() {
echo "{$this->eggs} eggs cost {$this->pounds} pounds, {$this->name}!";
}
}
Plugins/Plugins.php:
class Plugins {
public $name;
public function __construct() {
include '../Classes/Base.php';
$base = new Base();
$this->name = $base->name;
}
}
Classes/Base.php:
class Base {
public $name = "Will";
public function Say() {
echo $this->name;
}
}
Index.php includes everything in the Plugins folder and is supposed to execute OnCall(). It is giving the following error messages:
Warning: include(../Classes/Base.php) [function.include]: failed to
open stream: No such file or directory in
/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/Plugins/Plugins/Plugins.php on
line 6
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening
'../Classes/Base.php' for inclusion
(include_path='.:/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/lib/php:/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/lib/php/pear')
in /Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/Plugins/Plugins/Plugins.php
on line 6
Fatal error: Class 'Base' not found in
/Applications/XAMPP/xamppfiles/htdocs/Plugins/Plugins/Plugins.php on
line 7
Index.php (if it helps):
foreach(glob('Plugins/*.php') as $file) {
require_once $file;
$class = basename($file, '.php');
if(class_exists($class)) {
$obj = new $class;
$obj->OnCall();
}
}
What I need to do is use the Base class in classes outside of the Classes folder. How can I do so?

Answer 1

You need to call the parent's constructor in your Sample class.
class Sample extends Plugins {
public $eggs;
public $pounds;
public function __construct() {
parent::__construct();
$this->eggs = "100";
$this->pounds = "10";
}
public function OnCall() {
echo "{$this->eggs} eggs cost {$this->pounds} pounds, {$this->name}!";
}
}

Answer 2

You probably want to take advantage of __autoload (http://ca1.php.net/manual/en/function.autoload.php)
Using this function will allow you to load up your classes easily no matter what directory they're in.
Simple Example:
function __autoload($classname) {
$path = "path/to/Classes/$classname.php";
if(file_exists($path)) {
require_once $path;
}
}
This means you would be able to remove your include statement from your Plugins class and simply keep the declaration $base = new Base(); and __autoload will be magically called and load up the correct file.