Related
How can I assign a function to a method in a class in PHP? I tried the following:
class Something{
public function __construct(){
$functionNames = array('foo', 'bar')
$variable = 'blablabla';
foreach($functionNames as $functionName){
if(method_exists($this, $functionName))
continue;
$this->{$functionName}() = function($params){ //should create the methods "foo" and "bar"
echo $variable; //should echo 'blablabla' (I know that the variable was declared outside this function, but how can I access it anyway?)
}; //the error points to here
}
}
}
But this code gives me this error:
Fatal error: Can't use method return value in write context
Does anyone know how I can assign the anonymous function to the class method, while also still being able to access variables outside that function?
You are doing foreach($functionNames as $functionName){ which means that $functionName is a string, not an array. So, don't use $functionName[0].
method_exists takes 2 parameters. One is the object and the other is the method name. It should be:
method_exists($this, $functionName)
As for creating the function, you don't need () on the left side of the =. It should be:
$this->$functionName = function($params) use($variable){
echo $variable;
};
The use($variable) is needed to tell PHP to use that variable inside the function. That's how closures work in PHP, it's different than other languages.
So, your class should look like:
class Something{
public function __construct(){
$functionNames = array('foo', 'bar');
$variable = 'blablabla';
foreach($functionNames as $functionName){
if(method_exists($this, $functionName)){
continue;
}
$this->$functionName = function($params) use($variable){
echo $variable;
};
}
}
}
Problem here is that in this way of making functions, you are not actually creating a class method, but instead creating a class variable that contains a function.
So, you need to call it like so:
$test = new Something;
$foo = $test->foo;
$foo('abc');
You can't just do $test->foo('abc');.
EDIT: Another thing you can do is use PHP's __call "magic method". This will be ran whenever you do ->funcName(), regardless of whether the method exists or not. Using that method, you can just check to see if the method called was 'foo' or 'bar'. See this example:
class Something{
private $variable;
public function __construct(){
$this->variable = 'blablabla';
}
public function __call($name, $params=array()){
if(method_exists($this, $name)){
// This makes sure methods that *do* exist continue to work
return call_user_func(array($this, $name), $params);
}
else{
$functionNames = array('foo', 'bar');
if(in_array($name, $functionNames)){
// You called ->foo() or ->bar(), so do something
// If you'd like you can call another method in the class
echo $this->variable;
}
}
}
}
With this, now you can do the following:
$test = new Something;
$test->foo('abc'); // Will echo "blablabla"
If I have an instance in PHP, what's the easiest way to get to a static property ('class variable') of that instance ?
This
$classvars=get_class_vars(get_class($thing));
$property=$classvars['property'];
Sound really overdone. I would expect
$thing::property
or
$thing->property
EDIT: this is an old question. There are more obvious ways to do this in newer
PHP, search below.
You need to lookup the class name first:
$class = get_class($thing);
$class::$property
$property must be defined as static and public of course.
From inside a class instance you can simply use self::...
class Person {
public static $name = 'Joe';
public function iam() {
echo 'My name is ' . self::$name;
}
}
$me = new Person();
$me->iam(); // displays "My name is Joe"
If you'd rather not
$class = get_class($instance);
$var = $class::$staticvar;
because you find its two lines too long, you have other options available:
1. Write a getter
<?php
class C {
static $staticvar = "STATIC";
function getTheStaticVar() {
return self::$staticvar;
}
}
$instance = new C();
echo $instance->getTheStaticVar();
Simple and elegant, but you'd have to write a getter for every static variable you're accessing.
2. Write a universal static-getter
<?php
class C {
static $staticvar = "STATIC";
function getStatic($staticname) {
return self::$$staticname;
}
}
$instance = new C();
echo $instance->getStatic('staticvar');
This will let you access any static, though it's still a bit long-winded.
3. Write a magic method
class C {
static $staticvar = "STATIC";
function __get($staticname) {
return self::$$staticname;
}
}
$instance = new C();
echo $instance->staticvar;
This one allows you instanced access to any static variable as if it were a local variable of the object, but it may be considered an unholy abomination.
classname::property;
I think that's it.
You access them using the double colon (or the T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM token if you prefer)
class X {
public static $var = 13;
}
echo X::$var;
Variable variables are supported here, too:
$class = 'X';
echo $class::$var;
You should understand what the static property means. Static property or method is not for the objects. They are directly used by the class.
you can access them by
Class_name::static_property_name
These days, there is a pretty simple, clean way to do this.
<?php
namespace Foo;
class Bar
{
public static $baz=1;
//...
public function __toString()
{
return self::class;
}
}
echo Bar::$baz; // returns 1
$bar = new Bar();
echo $bar::$baz; // returns 1
You can also do this with a property in PHP 7.
<?php
namespace Foo;
class Bar
{
public static $baz=1;
public $class=self::class;
//...
}
$bar = new Bar();
echo $bar->class::$baz; // returns 1
class testClass {
public static $property = "property value";
public static $property2 = "property value 2";
}
echo testClass::$property;
echo testClass::property2;
I was writing a class that uses __get() and __set() to store and retrieve array elements in a master array. I had a check to make some elements ungettable, basically to re-create private properties.
I noticed that it seemed that __get intercepts all calls to class properties. This sucks for me, because I wanted to have a variable private to the outside world ( unavailable via get ), but I was trying to access it by directly referencing the master array from within the class. Of course, the master array is not in the whitelist of gettable properties :(
Is there a way I can emulate public and private properties in a php class that uses __get() and __set()?
Example:
<?
abstract class abstraction {
private $arrSettables;
private $arrGettables;
private $arrPropertyValues;
private $arrProperties;
private $blnExists = FALSE;
public function __construct( $arrPropertyValues, $arrSettables, $arrGettables ) {
$this->arrProperties = array_keys($arrPropertyValues);
$this->arrPropertyValues = $arrPropertyValues;
$this->arrSettables = $arrSettables;
$this->arrGettables = $arrGettables;
}
public function __get( $var ) {
echo "__get()ing:\n";
if ( ! in_array($var, $this->arrGettables) ) {
throw new Exception("$var is not accessible.");
}
return $this->arrPropertyValues[$var];
}
public function __set( $val, $var ) {
echo "__set()ing:\n";
if ( ! in_array($this->arrSettables, $var) ) {
throw new Exception("$var is not settable.");
}
return $this->arrPropertyValues[$var];
}
} // end class declaration
class concrete extends abstraction {
public function __construct( $arrPropertyValues, $arrSettables, $arrGettables ) {
parent::__construct( $arrPropertyValues, $arrSettables, $arrGettables );
}
public function runTest() {
echo "Accessing array directly:\n";
$this->arrPropertyValues['color'] = "red";
echo "Color is {$this->arrPropertyValues['color']}.\n";
echo "Referencing property:\n";
echo "Color is {$this->color}.\n";
$this->color = "blue";
echo "Color is {$this->color}.\n";
$rand = "a" . mt_rand(0,10000000);
$this->$rand = "Here is a random value";
echo "'$rand' is {$this->$rand}.\n";
}
}
try {
$objBlock = & new concrete( array("color"=>"green"), array("color"), array("color") );
$objBlock->runTest();
} catch ( exception $e ) {
echo "Caught Exeption $e./n/n";
}
// no terminating delimiter
$ php test.php
Accessing array directly:
__get()ing:
Caught Exeption exception 'Exception' with message 'arrPropertyValues is not accessible.' in /var/www/test.php:23
Stack trace:
#0 /var/www/test.php(50): abstraction->__get('arrPropertyValu...')
#1 /var/www//test.php(68): concrete->runTest()
#2 {main}.
Is there a way I can emulate public and private properties in a php class that uses __get() and __set()?
Not directly (if you discount debug_backtrace).
But you can have a private method getPriv that does all the work your current __get does. Then __get would only wrap this private method and check accessibility.
function __get($name) {
if (in_array($name, $this->privateProperties))
throw new Exception("The property ". __CLASS__ . "::$name is private.");
return $this->getPriv($name);
}
Inside your class, you would call getPriv, thus bypassing __get.
Make abstraction::$arrPropertyValues protected or do what Artefacto wrote (if you need additional checks), except that abstraction::getPriv() should be protected.
Rather than manually enlisting private/protected properties, you could use PHPs cumbersome reflection methods:
function __get($name) {
$reflect = new ReflectionObject($this);
$publics = $reflect->getProperties(ReflectionProperty::IS_PUBLIC);
if (in_array($name, $publics)) {
return $this->{$name};
}
}
I want to access private methods and variables from outside the classes in very rare specific cases.
I've seen that this is not be possible although introspection is used.
The specific case is the next one:
I would like to have something like this:
class Console
{
final public static function run() {
while (TRUE != FALSE) {
echo "\n> ";
$command = trim(fgets(STDIN));
switch ($command) {
case 'exit':
case 'q':
case 'quit':
echo "OK+\n";
return;
default:
ob_start();
eval($command);
$out = ob_get_contents();
ob_end_clean();
print("Command: $command");
print("Output:\n$out");
break;
}
}
}
}
This method should be able to be injected in the code like this:
Class Demo
{
private $a;
final public function myMethod()
{
// some code
Console::run();
// some other code
}
final public function myPublicMethod()
{
return "I can run through eval()";
}
private function myPrivateMethod()
{
return "I cannot run through eval()";
}
}
(this is just one simplification. the real one goes through a socket, and implement a bunch of more things...)
So...
If you instantiate the class Demo and you call $demo->myMethod(), you'll get a console: that console can access the first method writing a command like:
> $this->myPublicMethod();
But you cannot run successfully the second one:
> $this->myPrivateMethod();
Do any of you have any idea, or if there is any library for PHP that allows you to do this?
Thanks a lot!
Just make the method public. But if you want to get tricky you can try this (PHP 5.3):
class LockedGate
{
private function open()
{
return 'how did you get in here?!!';
}
}
$object = new LockedGate();
$reflector = new ReflectionObject($object);
$method = $reflector->getMethod('open');
$method->setAccessible(true);
echo $method->invoke($object);
EDIT:
Updated to include examples of private function calls with parameters.
As of PHP 5.4, you can use the predefined Closure class to bind a method/property of a class to a delta functions that has access even to private members.
The Closure class
For example we have a class with a private variable and we want to access it outside the class:
class Foo {
private $bar = "Foo::Bar";
private function add_ab($a, $b) {
return $a + $b;
}
}
PHP 5.4+
$foo = new Foo;
// Single variable example
$getFooBarCallback = function() {
return $this->bar;
};
$getFooBar = $getFooBarCallback->bindTo($foo, 'Foo');
echo $getFooBar(); // Prints Foo::Bar
// Function call with parameters example
$getFooAddABCallback = function() {
// As of PHP 5.6 we can use $this->fn(...func_get_args()) instead of call_user_func_array
return call_user_func_array(array($this, 'add_ab'), func_get_args());
};
$getFooAddAB = $getFooAddABCallback->bindTo($foo, 'Foo');
echo $getFooAddAB(33, 6); // Prints 39
As of PHP 7, you can use the new Closure::call method, to bind any method/property of an obect to a callback function, even for private members:
PHP 7+
$foo = new Foo;
// Single variable example
$getFooBar = function() {
return $this->bar;
};
echo $getFooBar->call($foo); // Prints Foo::Bar
// Function call with parameters example
$getFooAddAB = function() {
return $this->add_ab(...func_get_args());
};
echo $getFooAddAB->call($foo, 33, 6); // Prints 39
The first question you should ask is, if you need to access it from outside the class, why did you declare it private? If it's not your code, the originator probably had a good reason to declare it private, and accessing it directly is a very bad (and largely unmaintainable) practice.
EDIT: As Adam V. points out in the comments, you need to make the private method accessible before invoking it. Code sample updated to include this. I haven't tested it, though - just adding here to keep the answer updated.
That having been said, you can use Reflection to accomplish this. Instantiate ReflectionClass, call getMethod for the method you want to invoke, and then call invoke on the returned ReflectionMethod.
A code sample (though I haven't tested it, so there may be errors) might look like
$demo = new Demo();
$reflection_class = new ReflectionClass("Demo");
$reflection_method = $reflection_class->getMethod("myPrivateMethod");
$reflection_method->setAccessible(true);
$result = $reflection_method->invoke($demo, NULL);
Here's a variation of the other answers that can be used to make such calls one line:
public function callPrivateMethod($object, $methodName)
{
$reflectionClass = new \ReflectionClass($object);
$reflectionMethod = $reflectionClass->getMethod($methodName);
$reflectionMethod->setAccessible(true);
$params = array_slice(func_get_args(), 2); //get all the parameters after $methodName
return $reflectionMethod->invokeArgs($object, $params);
}
I have these problems too sometimes, however I get around it through my coding standards. Private or protected functions are denoted with a prefix underscore ie
private function _myPrivateMethod()
Then i simply make the function public.
public function _myPrivateMethod()
So although the function is public the naming convention gives the notification that whilst public is is private and shouldn't really be used.
If you are able to added a method in the class where the method is defined, you can add method which uses the call_user_method() internally. This works also with PHP 5.2.x
<?php
class SomeClass {
public function callprivate($methodName) {
call_user_method(array($this, $methodName));
}
private function somePrivateMethod() {
echo 'test';
}
}
$object = new SomeClass();
$object->callprivate('somePrivateMethod');
Answer is put public to the method. Whatever trick you are going to do it wouldn't be understandable to fellow developers. For example they do not know that at some other code this function has been accessed as public by looking at the Demo class.
One more thing. that console can access the first method writing a command like:. How can this even be possible? Console can not access demo class functions by using $this.
I guess the reflectionClass is the only alternative if you really want to execute some private methods. Anyhow, if you just need read access to privat or protected properties, you could use this code:
<?php
class Demo
{
private $foo = "bar";
}
$demo = new Demo();
// Will return an object with public, private and protected properties in public scope.
$properties = json_decode(preg_replace('/\\\\u([0-9a-f]{4})|'.get_class($demo).'/i', '', json_encode((array) $demo)));
?>
<?php
$request="email";
$data=[1,2,3,4,5];
$name=new Update($request,$data);
class Update{
private $request;
private $data;
function __construct($request,$data){
$this->request=$request;
$this->data=$data;
if($this->request=='email'){
$this->update_email();
}
else{
echo "Can't do anything";
}
}
private function update_email(){
echo $this->request;
echo '\n';
foreach($this->data as $x){
echo $x."\n";
}
}
}
?>
I have abandoned all hope of ever being able to overload my constructors in PHP, so what I'd really like to know is why.
Is there even a reason for it? Does it create inherently bad code? Is it widely accepted language design to not allow it, or are other languages nicer than PHP?
You can't overload ANY method in PHP. If you want to be able to instantiate a PHP object while passing several different combinations of parameters, use the factory pattern with a private constructor.
For example:
public MyClass {
private function __construct() {
...
}
public static function makeNewWithParameterA($paramA) {
$obj = new MyClass();
// other initialization
return $obj;
}
public static function makeNewWithParametersBandC($paramB, $paramC) {
$obj = new MyClass();
// other initialization
return $obj;
}
}
$myObject = MyClass::makeNewWithParameterA("foo");
$anotherObject = MyClass::makeNewWithParametersBandC("bar", 3);
You can use variable arguments to produce the same effect. Without strong typing, it doesn't make much sense to add, given default arguments and all of the other "work arounds."
For completeness, I'll suggest Fluent Interfaces. The idea is that by adding return $this; to the end of your methods you can chain calls together. So instead of
$car1 = new Car('blue', 'RWD');
$car2 = new Car('Ford', '300hp');
(which simply wouldn't work), you can do:
$car = (new Car)
->setColor('blue')
->setMake('Ford')
->setDrive('FWD');
That way you can pick exactly which properties you want to set. In a lot of ways it's similar to passing in an array of options to your initial call:
$car = new Car(['make' => 'Ford', 'seats' => 5]);
PHP Manual: Function Arguments, Default Values
I have overcome this simply by using default values for function parameters. In __constuct, list the required parameters first. List the optional parameters after that in the general form $param = null.
class User
{
private $db;
private $userInput;
public function __construct(Database $db, array $userInput = null)
{
$this->db = $db;
$this->userInput = $userInput;
}
}
This can be instantiated as:
$user = new User($db)
or
$user = new User($db, $inputArray);
This is not a perfect solution, but I have made this work by separating parameters into absolutely mandatory parameters no matter when the object is constructed, and, as a group, optional parameters listed in order of importance.
It works.
True overloading is indeed unsupported in PHP. As #Pestilence mentioned, you can use variable arguments. Some people just use an Associative Array of various options to overcome this.
they say this work:
<?php
class A
{
function __construct()
{
$a = func_get_args();
$i = func_num_args();
if (method_exists($this,$f='__construct'.$i)) {
call_user_func_array(array($this,$f),$a);
}
}
function __construct1($a1)
{
echo('__construct with 1 param called: '.$a1.PHP_EOL);
}
function __construct2($a1,$a2)
{
echo('__construct with 2 params called: '.$a1.','.$a2.PHP_EOL);
}
function __construct3($a1,$a2,$a3)
{
echo('__construct with 3 params called: '.$a1.','.$a2.','.$a3.PHP_EOL);
}
}
$o = new A('sheep');
$o = new A('sheep','cat');
$o = new A('sheep','cat','dog');
// results:
// __construct with 1 param called: sheep
// __construct with 2 params called: sheep,cat
// __construct with 3 params called: sheep,cat,dog
?>
and, it seem every one are happy with it, but for me it didn't work...
if you get it to work, its one kind of overloading too...
it take all argoments and pass them to the secondary function constructor...
<?php
//php do not automatically call parent class constructor at all if child class has constructor so you have to call parent class constructor explicitly, however parent class constructor is called automatically if child class has no constructor
class MyClass
{
function construct1($value1)
{
echo "<br/> dummy constructor is called with 1 arguments and it is $value1";
}
function construct2($value1,$value2)
{
echo "<br/> dummy constructor is called with 2 arguments and it is $value1, $value2";
}
function construct3($value1,$value2,$value3)
{
echo "<br/> dummy constructor is called with 3 arguments and it is $value1, $value2 , $value3";
}
public function __construct()
{
$NoOfArguments = func_num_args(); //return no of arguments passed in function
$arguments = func_get_args();
echo "<br/> child constructor is called $NoOfArguments";
switch ($NoOfArguments) {
case 1:
self::construct1($arguments[0]);
break;
case 2:
self::construct2($arguments[0],$arguments[1]);
break;
case 3:
self::construct3($arguments[0],$arguments[1],$arguments[2]);
break;
default:
echo "Invalid No of arguments passed";
break;
}
}
}
$c = new MyClass();
$c2 = new MyClass("ankit");
$c2 = new MyClass("ankit","Jiya");
$c2 = new MyClass("ankit","Jiya","Kasish");
?>
You can use conditional statements in your constructor and then perform your task.
Eg.
class Example
{
function __construct($no_of_args)
{// lets assume 2
switch($no_of_args)
{
case 1:
// write your code
break;
case 2:
//write your 2nd set of code
break;
default:
//write your default statement
}
}
}
$object1 = new Example(1); // this will run your 1st case
$object2 = new Example(2); // this will run your 2nd case
and so on...
You can of course overload any function in PHP using __call() and __callStatic() magic methods.
It is a little bit tricky, but the implementation can do exactly what your are looking for.
Here is the resource on the official PHP.net website:
https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.overloading.php#object.call
And here is the example which works for both static and non-static methods:
class MethodTest
{
public function __call($name, $arguments)
{
// Note: value of $name is case sensitive.
echo "Calling object method '$name' "
. implode(', ', $arguments). "\n";
}
/** As of PHP 5.3.0 */
public static function __callStatic($name, $arguments)
{
// Note: value of $name is case sensitive.
echo "Calling static method '$name' "
. implode(', ', $arguments). "\n";
}
}
$obj = new MethodTest;
$obj->runTest('in object context');
MethodTest::runTest('in static context'); // As of PHP 5.3.0
And you can apply this to constructors by using the following code in the __construct():
$clsName = get_class($this);
$clsName->methodName($args);
Pretty easy.
And you may want to implement __clone() to make a clone copy of the class with the method that you called without having the function that you called in every instance...
Adding this answer for completeness with respect to current PHP , since later versions of PHP , you can in fact overload constructors in a way . Following code will help to understand ,
<?php
class A
{
function __construct()
{
$a = func_get_args();
$i = func_num_args();
if (method_exists($this,$f='__construct'.$i)) {
call_user_func_array(array($this,$f),$a);
}
}
function __construct1($a1)
{
echo('__construct with 1 param called: '.$a1.PHP_EOL);
}
function __construct2($a1,$a2)
{
echo('__construct with 2 params called: '.$a1.','.$a2.PHP_EOL);
}
function __construct3($a1,$a2,$a3)
{
echo('__construct with 3 params called: '.$a1.','.$a2.','.$a3.PHP_EOL);
}
}
$o = new A('sheep');
$o = new A('sheep','cat');
$o = new A('sheep','cat','dog');
?>
Output :
__construct with 1 param called: sheep
__construct with 2 params called: sheep,cat
__construct with 3 params called: sheep,cat,dog
In this case I recommend using Interfaces:
interface IExample {
public function someMethod();
}
class oneParamConstructor implements IExample {
public function __construct(private int $someNumber) {
}
public function someMethod(){
}
}
class twoParamConstructor implements IExample {
public function __construct(private int $someNumber, string $someString) {
}
public function someMethod(){
}
}
than in your code:
function doSomething(IExample $example) {
$example->someMethod();
}
$a = new oneParamConstructor(12);
$b = new twoParamConstructor(45, "foo");
doSomething($a)
doSomething($b)
As far as I know, constructor overloading in PHP is not allowed, simply because the developers of PHP did not include that functionality - this is one of the many complaints about PHP.
I've heard of tricks and workarounds, but true overloading in the OOP sense is missing. Maybe in future versions, it will be included.
I think we can also use constructor with default arguments as a potential substitute to constructor overloading in PHP.
Still, it is really sad that true constructor overloading is not supported in PHP.
<?php
class myClass {
public $param1 = 'a';
public $param2 = 'b';
public function __construct($param1 = NULL, $param2 = NULL) {
if ($param1 == NULL && $param2 == NULL) {
// $this->param1 = $param1;
// $this->param2 = $param2;
} elseif ($param1 == NULL && $param2 !== NULL) {
// $this->param1 = $param1;
$this->param2 = $param2;
} elseif ($param1 !== NULL && $param2 == NULL) {
$this->param1 = $param1;
// $this->param2 = $param2;
} else {
$this->param1 = $param1;
$this->param2 = $param2;
}
}
}
// $myObject = new myClass();
// $myObject = new myClass(NULL, 2);
$myObject = new myClass(1, '');
// $myObject = new myClass(1, 2);
echo $myObject->param1;
echo "<br />";
echo $myObject->param2;
?>
public function construct1($user , $company)
{
dd("constructor 1");
$this->user = $user;
$this->company = $company;
}
public function construct2($cc_mail , $bcc_mail , $mail_data,$user,$company)
{
dd('constructor 2');
$this->mail_data=$mail_data;
$this->user=$user;
$this->company=$company;
$this->cc_mail=$cc_mail;
$this->bcc_mail=$bcc_mail;
}
public function __construct()
{
$NoOfArguments = func_num_args(); //return no of arguments passed in function
$arguments = func_get_args();
switch ($NoOfArguments) {
case 1:
self::construct1($arguments[0]);
break;
case 5:
self::construct2($arguments[0],$arguments[1],$arguments[2],$arguments[3],$arguments[4]);
break;
default:
echo "Invalid No of arguments passed";
break;
}
I'm really no OOP expert, but as I understand it overloading means the ability of a method to act differently depending in the parameters it receives as input. This is very much possible with PHP, you just don't declare the input types since PHP does not have strong typing, and all the overloading is done at runtime instead of compile time.