#47587 [Bgs->Csd]: When exactly is __clone() executed?

ID: 47587 Updated by: rquadling@php.net Reported By: scout at hyperspace-travel dot de -Status: Bogus +Status: Closed Bug Type: Documentation problem PHP Version: Irrelevant New Comment: This bug has been fixed in the documentation's XML sources. Since the online and downloadable versions of the documentation need some time to get updated, we would like to ask you to be a bit patient. Thank you for the report, and for helping us make our documentation better. Text changed to: When an object is cloned, PHP 5 will perform a shallow copy of all of the object's properties. Any properties that are references to other variables, will remain references. Once the cloning is complete, if a __clone() method is defined, then the newly created object's __clone() method will be called, to allow any necessary properties that need to be changed. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-03-06 15:16:25] scout at hyperspace-travel dot de I'd propose the following little alteration. "When an object is cloned, PHP 5 will perform a shallow copy of all of the object's properties. Any properties that are references to other variables, will remain references. If a __clone() method is defined, the newly created object's __clone() method will be called after the shallow copy, to allow any necessary properties that need to be changed." I understood the "then" in "If... then" as a causal correlation, not as indicating a sequence of operations. It IS an ambiguous formulation, after all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-03-06 14:59:27] rquadling@php.net Is this easier to read? "When an object is cloned, PHP 5 will perform a shallow copy of all of the object's properties. Any properties that are references to other variables, will remain references. If a __clone() method is defined, then the newly created object's __clone() method will be called, to allow any necessary properties that need to be changed." I read this as ... Clone runs on the copied object, which has had a shallow copy run against the original object. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-03-06 13:44:56] scout at hyperspace-travel dot de "If a __clone() method is defined, then the newly created object's __clone() method will be called, to allow any necessary properties that need to be changed." Yes, I read that. But that doesn't say WHEN __clone() is executed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-03-06 13:34:39] rquadling@php.net http://docs.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.cloning.php gives a clear explanation of what happens when cloning is applied to an object. "When an object is cloned, PHP 5 will perform a shallow copy of all of the object's properties. Any properties that are references to other variables, will remain references. If a __clone() method is defined, then the newly created object's __clone() method will be called, to allow any necessary properties that need to be changed." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2009-03-06 13:25:36] scout at hyperspace-travel dot de Description: ------------ The documentation does not mention when exactly the __clone() method is performed. Neither does any of the comments. No I figure it is done AFTER shallow-copying the attributes of the old object to the new on, as everything else would be braindead. But still, it would be nice to have this information written down because that is a pretty crucial detail and it helps to understand the process of cloning in the first place. Greets, Lene Reproduce code: --------------- --- From manual page: language.oop5.cloning --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at http://bugs.php.net/?id=47587&edit=1