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To pass value of a variable in one function to another function in same class
Can a value of a variable in one function be made available in another function on the same class using "GLOBAL" in PHP. If so please suggest how can this be achieved using Global.
You don't need to make a variable GLOBAL if you're within an object.
class myClass {
public $myVar = "Hello";
function myFunction() {
echo $this->$myVar;
}
}
This is one of the main points of objects - that you can assign different values to variables and get/set those variables within the different methods. And also that you can create multiple instances of objects each holding different information within the same structure and with the same methods available.
Additionally to what #Codecraft said (about using public properties), you can use:
indeed global variable (which is really something you should avoid doing),
passing values in parameters,
static variable within class,
Below is the example of using static variable (private), because I think this suits your needs best:
class MyClass {
private static $_something;
public function write() {
static::$_something = 'ok';
}
public function read() {
return static::$_something;
}
}
$x = new MyClass();
$x->write();
var_dump($x->read());
which outputs:
string(2) "ok"
This is in fact something like a global, but available only from inside your class (because of the keyword "private") and common among every instance of the class. If you use setting some non-static property, it will change across different instances of the class (one object may have different value stored in it than the other object has).
Comparison of solutions based on static and non-static variables:
Solution based on static variable will give you really global-like behaviour (value passed across different instances of the same class):
class MyClass {
private static $_something;
public function write() {
static::$_something = 'ok';
}
public function read() {
return static::$_something;
}
}
// first instance
$x = new MyClass();
$x->write();
// second instance
$y = new MyClass();
var_dump($y->read());
which outputs:
string(2) "ok"
And the solution based on non-static variables will look like:
class MyClass {
private $_something;
public function write() {
$this->_something = 'ok';
}
public function read() {
return $this->_something;
}
}
// first instance
$x = new MyClass();
$x->write();
// second instance
$y = new MyClass();
var_dump($y->read());
but will output:
NULL
which means that in this case the second instance has no value assigned for the variable you wanted to behave like "global".
Yes, a value of a variable in one function can be made available in another function on the same class using "GLOBAL". The following code prints 3:
class Foo
{
public function f1($arg) {
GLOBAL $x;
$x = $arg;
}
public function f2() {
GLOBAL $x;
return $x;
}
}
$foo = new Foo;
$foo->f1(3);
echo $foo->f2();
However, the usage of global variables is usually a sign of poor design.
Note that while keywords in PHP are case-insensitive, it is custom to use lower case letters for them. Not also that the superglobal array that contains all global variables is called $GLOBALS, not GLOBAL.
Related
Using as an example the class defined here
class Testclass {
private $testvar = "default value";
public function setTestvar($testvar) {
$this->testvar = $testvar;
}
public function getTestvar() {
return $this->testvar;
}
function dosomething()
{
echo $this->getTestvar();
}
}
$Testclass = new Testclass();
$Testclass->setTestvar("another value");
$Testclass->dosomething();
I would like to add inside a function "one more value", like this:
function test_function() {
$Testclass->setTestvar("one more value");
}
But it doesn´t work. I gives the error message undefined variable Testclass. In order to make it work, I have to define the variable as global within the function, like this:
function test_function() {
global Testclass;
$Testclass->setTestvar("one more value");
}
I am quite new to PHP, but it seems rather strange to me this way of using it. From the main PHP file it´s already defined, but when I use it from a function I have to define again.Basically what I am trying to do is to create a class that creates a new file and adds strings to it from different functions. Is there not a better way? Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance.
One way is to use singleton
MyClass::getInstance()->doSomethingUsefull();
Sometimes you can use static method
MyClass::doIt();
Functions have their own private variable scope. So (for example) you can use $i in a function without worrying about it screwing up another $i somewhere else in the program. If you want to have a function perform actions on an already-existing object, just pass the object as a parameter to the function:
function test_function(Testclass $testclass)
{
$testclass->setTestvar("one more value");
}
Then call it with your object:
$Testclass = new Testclass();
test_function($Testclass);
Note: If the functions you're defining outside the class are tightly related to the class, then you probably want to define them as methods inside the class instead of separate stand-alone functions.
Here is a hypothetical example (the parent class PageState, contains an instance of the class FooterState - the instance may not be created, depending on the conditions. The FooterState needs to call a function which is public and is created in the PageState class):
class PageState {
private $footer_state = null;
function PageState() {
$this->footer_state= new FooterState($this);
}
public function getExpectedPageDimensions() {
// do calculations based on existing body content
return $dimensions;
}
}
class FooterState {
private $get_dimensions_func = null;
function FooterState($page_state) {
// Here, we need to get the reference to the function from the $page_state class
$this->get_dimensions_func = $page_state->getExpectedPageDimensions;
}
public function addLogos($logo_data) {
$page_dimensions = $this->get_dimensions_func();
// use the page dimensions to decide on the size of the content
return Array('width' => $width, 'height' => $height);
}
I am aware of alternative solutions:
Instead of making a copy of the reference to the function, create a refference to the class $this->page_state = $page_state; and then functions in FooterState can call $this->page_state->getExpectedPageDimensions();
Use global $PageStateInstance; and then just call $PageStateInstance->getExpectedPageDimensions();
But I am wondering if it is at all possible to store a reference to a class function in a variable. If the functions were outside of the class, it would be possible to do stuff like $func = 'getExpectedPageDimensions'; $func();.
You can pass on an instance plus a function as a callable: An array with the instance and the function name. There is a similar system for calling static class methods.
# An example callback method
class MyClass {
function myCallbackMethod() {
echo 'Hello World!';
}
}
# create an instance
$obj = new MyClass();
# and later:
call_user_func(array($obj, 'myCallbackMethod'));
From the docs here: http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.callable.php
Instead of making a copy of the reference to the function, create a refference to the class $this->page_state = $page_state; and then functions in FooterState can call $this->page_state->getExpectedPageDimensions();
This is the best generic solution.
But I am wondering if it is at all possible to store a reference to a class function in a variable.
Yes it is, but it really only works for static functions unless you instantiate the class. Example:
class A {
public static function doSomethingStatic() {
// ...
}
public function doSomethingElse() {
// ...
}
}
$somevar = 'A::doSomethingStatic';
$result = call_user_func($somevar); // calls A::doSomethingStatic();
$myA = new A();
$myref = array($myA, 'doSomethingElse');
$result = call_user_func($myref); // calls $myref->doSomethingElse();
Note that in the second example you have to instantiate the class and pass an array as the first parameter to call_user_func().
References: http://php.net/manual/en/function.call-user-func.php and http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.callable.php
is at all possible to store a reference to a class function
I think you mean object instead of class, but yes you can, with closures.
I don't think you need to though. $this->page_state seems like it'll work just fine.
Don't use globals.
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.
I'd like to do something like this:
public static function createDynamic(){
$mydynamicvar = 'module';
self::$mydynamicvar = $value;
}
and be able to access the property from within the class with
$value = self::$module;
I don't know exactly why you would want to do this, but this works. You have to access the dynamic 'variables' like a function because there is no __getStatic() magic method in PHP yet.
class myclass{
static $myvariablearray = array();
public static function createDynamic($variable, $value){
self::$myvariablearray[$variable] = $value;
}
public static function __callstatic($name, $arguments){
return self::$myvariablearray[$name];
}
}
myclass::createDynamic('module', 'test');
echo myclass::module();
static variables must be part of the class definition, so you can't create them dynamically. Not even with Reflection:
chuck at manchuck dot com 2 years ago
It is important to note that calling ReflectionClass::setStaticPropertyValue will not allow you to add new static properties to a class.
But this looks very much like a XY Problem. You probably don't really want to add static properties to a PHP class at runtime; you have some use case that could be fulfilled also that way. Or that way would be the fastest way, were it available, to fulfill some use case. There well might be other ways.
Actually the use cases below are yet again possible solutions to some higher level problem. It might be worth it to reexamine the high level problem and refactor/rethink it in different terms, maybe skipping the need of meddling with static properties altogether.
I want a dictionary of properties inside my class.
trait HasDictionary {
private static $keyValueDictionary = [ ];
public static function propget($name) {
if (!array_key_exists($name, static::$keyValueDictionary) {
return null;
}
return static::$keyValueDictionary[$name];
}
public static function propset($name, $value) {
if (array_key_exists($name, static::$keyValueDictionary) {
$prev = static::$keyValueDictionary[$name];
} else {
$prev = null;
}
static::$keyValueDictionary[$name] = $value;
return $prev;
}
}
class MyClass
{
use Traits\HasDictionary;
...$a = self::propget('something');
self::propset('something', 'some value');
}
I want to associate some values to a class, or: I want a dictionary of properties inside some one else's class.
This actually happened to me and I found this question while investigating ways of doing it. I needed to see, in point B of my workflow, in which point ("A") a given class had been defined, and by what other part of code. In the end I stored that information into an array fed by my autoloader, and ended up being able to also store the debug_backtrace() at the moment of class first loading.
// Solution: store values somewhere else that you control.
class ClassPropertySingletonMap {
use Traits\HasDictionary; // same as before
public static function setClassProp($className, $prop, $value) {
return self::propset("{$className}::{$prop}", $value);
}
public static function getClassProp($className, $prop) {
return self::propget("{$className}::{$prop}");
}
}
// Instead of
// $a = SomeClass::$someName;
// SomeClass::$someName = $b;
// we'll use
// $a = ClassPropertySingletonMap::getClassProp('SomeClass','someName');
// ClassPropertySingletonMap::setClassProp('SomeClass','someName', $b);
I want to change, not create, an existing property of a class.
// Use Reflection. The property is assumed private, for were it public
// you could do it as Class::$property = $whatever;
function setPrivateStaticProperty($class, $property, $value) {
$reflector = new \ReflectionClass($class);
$reflector->getProperty($property)->setAccessible(true);
$reflector->setStaticPropertyValue($property, $value);
$reflector->getProperty($property)->setAccessible(false);
}
Static properties must be defined in the class definition. Therefore, real static properties cannot be created dynamically like regular properties.
For example, if you run this:
<?php
class MyClass
{
public static function createDynamic()
{
$mydynamicvar = 'module';
self::$mydynamicvar = $value;
}
}
MyClass::createDynamic();
var_dump(MyClass::$mydynamicvar);
var_dump(MyClass::$module);
...you'll get this error
Fatal error: Access to undeclared static property: MyClass::$mydynamicvar test.php on line 8
Notice how the error occurs on line 8 when trying to set the property instead of line 14 or 15 (as you might expect if you were simply doing it wrong and dynamically creating static properties was actually possible).
A related problem that IS possible (in PHP 5.4.0 and up) is to include various separate groups of static variable or constant declarations and group them together into one class declaration.
Here is an example:
trait Added1 // This can be located in one Include file
{
static
$x="hello"; // Can declare more variables here
}
trait Added2 // This can be located in another Include file
{
static
$y="world"; // Can declare more variables here
}
class G // Global constant and variable declarations class
{
use Added1, Added2; // Combines all variable declarations
}
echo G::$x." ".G::$y; // Shows "hello world" on the web page
I have found different information regarding static variables in PHP but nothing that actually explains what it is and how it really works.
I have read that when used within a class that a static property cannot be used by any object instantiated by that class and that a static method can be used by an object instantiated by the class?
However, I have been trying to research what a static variable does within a function that is not in a class. Also, does a static variable within a function work somewhat like closure in javascript or am I totally off in this assumption?
I have read that when used within a class that a static property cannot be used by any object instantiated by that class
It depends on what you mean by that. eg:
class Foo {
static $my_var = 'Foo';
}
$x = new Foo();
echo $x::$my_var; // works fine
echo $x->my_var; // doesn't work - Notice: Undefined property: Foo::$my_var
and that a static method can be used by an object instantiated by the class???
Yes, an instantiated object belonging to the class can access a static method.
The keyword static in the context of classes behave somewhat like static class variables in other languages. A member (method or variable) declared static is associated with the class and rather than an instance of that class. Thus, you can access it without an instance of the class (eg: in the example above, I could use Foo::$my_var)
However, I have been trying to research what a static variable does within a function that is not in a class.
Also, does a static variable within a function work somewhat like closure in javascript or am I totally off in this assumption.
Outside of classes (ie: in functions), a static variable is a variable that doesn't lose its value when the function exits. So in sense, yes, they work like closures in JavaScript.
But unlike JS closures, there's only one value for the variable that's maintained across different invocations of the same function. From the PHP manual's example:
function test()
{
static $a = 0;
echo $a;
$a++;
}
test(); // prints 0
test(); // prints 1
test(); // prints 2
Reference: static keyword (in classes), (in functions)
static has two uses in PHP:
First, and most commonly, it can be used to define 'class' variables/functions (as opposed to instance variables/functions), that can be accessed without instantiating a class:
class A {
public static $var = 'val'; // $var is static (in class context)
public $other_var = 'other_val'; // non-static
}
echo A::$var; // val
echo A::$other_var // doesn't work (fatal error, undefined static variable)
$a = new A;
echo $a->var // won't work (strict standards)
echo $a->other_var // other_val
Secondly, it can be used to maintain state between function calls:
function a() {
static $i = 0;
$j = 0;
return array($i++, $j++);
}
print_r(a()); // array(0, 0)
print_r(a()); // array(1, 0)
print_r(a()); // array(2, 0)
//...
Note that declaring a variable static within a function works the same regardless of whether or not the function is defined in a class, all that matters is where the variable is declared (class member or in a function).
A static variable in a function is initialized only in the first call of that function in its running script.
At first i will explain what will happen if static variable is not used
<?php
function somename() {
$var = 1;
echo $var . "<br />";
$var++;
}
somename();
somename();
somename();
?>
If you run the above code the output you gets will be 1 1 1 . Since everytime you called that function variable assigns to 1 and then prints it.
Now lets see what if static variable is used
<?php
function somename() {
static $var = 1;
echo $var . "<br />";
$var++;
}
somename();
somename();
somename();
?>
Now if you run this code snippet the output will be 1 2 3.
Note: Static keeps its value and stick around everytime the function is called. It will not lose its value when the function is called.
class Student {
static $total_student = 0;
static function add_student(){
return Student::$total_student++;
}
}
First: for the add_student function, the best practice is to use static not public.
Second: in the add_student function, we are using Student::$total_student,not use $this->total_student. This is big different from normal variable.
Third:static variable are shared throughout the inheritance tree.
take below code to see what is the result:
class One {
static $foo ;
}
class Two extends One{}
class Three extends One{}
One::$foo = 1;
Two::$foo = 2;
Three::$foo = 3;
echo One::$foo;
echo Two::$foo;
echo Three::$foo;`