Initialize Objects like arrays in PHP? - php

Question

In PHP, you can initialize arrays with values quickly using the following notation:
$array = array("name" => "member 1", array("name" => "member 1.1") ) ....
is there any way to do this for STDClass objects?
I don't know any shorter way than the dreary
$object = new STDClass();
$object->member1 = "hello, I'm 1";
$object->member1->member1 = "hello, I'm 1.1";
$object->member2 = "hello, I'm 2";

Answer 1

You can use type casting:
$object = (object) array("name" => "member 1", array("name" => "member 1.1") );

Answer 2

I also up-voted Gumbo as the preferred solution but what he suggested is not exactly what was asked, which may lead to some confusion as to why member1o looks more like a member1a.
To ensure this is clear now, the two ways (now 3 ways since 5.4) to produce the same stdClass in php.
As per the question's long or manual approach:
$object = new stdClass;
$object->member1 = "hello, I'm 1";
$object->member1o = new stdClass;
$object->member1o->member1 = "hello, I'm 1o.1";
$object->member2 = "hello, I'm 2";
The shorter or single line version (expanded here for clarity) to cast an object from an array, ala Gumbo's suggestion.
$object = (object)array(
'member1' => "hello, I'm 1",
'member1o' => (object)array(
'member1' => "hello, I'm 1o.1",
),
'member2' => "hello, I'm 2",
);
PHP 5.4+ Shortened array declaration style
$object = (object)[
'member1' => "hello, I'm 1",
'member1o' => (object)['member1' => "hello, I'm 1o.1"],
'member2' => "hello, I'm 2",
];
Will both produce exactly the same result:
stdClass Object
(
[member1] => hello, I'm 1
[member1o] => stdClass Object
(
[member1] => hello, I'm 1o.1
)
[member2] => hello, I'm 2
)
nJoy!

Answer 3

From a (post) showing both type casting and using a recursive function to convert single and multi-dimensional arrays to a standard object:
<?php
function arrayToObject($array) {
if (!is_array($array)) {
return $array;
}
$object = new stdClass();
if (is_array($array) && count($array) > 0) {
foreach ($array as $name=>$value) {
$name = strtolower(trim($name));
if (!empty($name)) {
$object->$name = arrayToObject($value);
}
}
return $object;
}
else {
return FALSE;
}
}
Essentially you construct a function that accepts an $array and iterates over all its keys and values. It assigns the values to class properties using the keys.
If a value is an array, you call the function again (recursively), and assign its output as the value.
The example function above does exactly that; however, the logic is probably ordered a bit differently than you'd naturally think about the process.

Answer 4

You can use :
$object = (object)[]; // shorter version of (object)array();
$object->foo = 'bar';

Answer 5

I use a class I name Dict:
class Dict {
public function __construct($values = array()) {
foreach($values as $k => $v) {
$this->{$k} = $v;
}
}
}
It also has functions for merging with other objects and arrays, but that's kinda out of the scope of this question.

Answer 6

You could try:
function initStdClass($thing) {
if (is_array($thing)) {
return (object) array_map(__FUNCTION__, $thing);
}
return $thing;
}

Answer 7

from this answer to a similar question:
As of PHP7, we have Anonymous Classes which would allow you to extend a class at runtime, including setting of additional properties:
$a = new class() extends MyObject {
public $property1 = 1;
public $property2 = 2;
};
echo $a->property1; // prints 1
It's not as succinct as the initializer for array. Not sure if I'd use it. But it is another option you can consider.

Answer 8

Another option for deep conversion is to use json_encode + json_decode (it decodes to stdClass by default). This way you won't have to repeat (object) cast in each nested object.
$object = json_decode(json_encode(array(
'member1' => "hello, I'm 1",
'member1o' => array(
'member1' => "hello, I'm 1o.1",
),
'member2' => "hello, I'm 2",
)));
output:
php > print_r($object);
stdClass Object
(
[member1] => hello, I'm 1
[member1o] => stdClass Object
(
[member1] => hello, I'm 1o.1
)
[member2] => hello, I'm 2
)