/*PHP 5 is very very flexible in accessing member variables and member functions.
These access methods maybe look unusual and unnecessary at first glance;
but they are very useful sometimes;
specially when you work with SimpleXML classes and objects.
I have posted a similar comment in SimpleXML function reference section,
but this one is more comprehensive.
I use the following class as reference for all examples:
*/
<?php
class Foo {
public $aMemberVar = 'aMemberVar Member Variable';
public $aFuncName = 'aMemberFunc';
function aMemberFunc() {
print 'Inside `aMemberFunc()`';
}
}
$foo = new Foo;
?>
/*You can access member variables in an object using another variable as name:*/
<?php
$element = 'aMemberVar';
print $foo->$element; // prints "aMemberVar Member Variable"
?>
or use functions:
<?php
function getVarName()
{ return 'aMemberVar'; }
print $foo->{getVarName()}; // prints "aMemberVar Member Variable"
?>
//Important Note: You must surround function name with { and }
///or PHP would think you are calling a member function of object "foo".
//you can use a constant or literal as well:
<?php
define(MY_CONSTANT, 'aMemberVar');
print $foo->{MY_CONSTANT}; // Prints "aMemberVar Member Variable"
print $foo->{'aMemberVar'}; // Prints "aMemberVar Member Variable"
?>
//You can use members of other objects as well:
<?php
print $foo->{$otherObj->var};
print $foo->{$otherObj->func()};
?>
//You can use mathods above to access member functions as well:
<?php
print $foo->{'aMemberFunc'}(); // Prints "Inside `aMemberFunc()`"
print $foo->{$foo->aFuncName}(); // Prints "Inside `aMemberFunc()`"
?>