#41090 [Bgs->Opn]: can't override inherited private methods

ID: 41090 User updated by: ozone at cname dot com Reported By: ozone at cname dot com -Status: Bogus +Status: Open -Bug Type: Class/Object related +Bug Type: Documentation problem Operating System: linux PHP Version: 5.2.1 New Comment: This still needs better documentation; the (silent) inability to override a private method in a derivative class is somewhat counterintuitive. Put another way, I had to burn time writing test cases after a careful study of the documentation didn't mention the behavior I saw. IMNSHO, a production-quality language doesn't require careful "figuring out" of its behaviors, and if I'm repeatedly told that the issues I experience are "not a bug" , I'll stop wasting the time to file bug reports. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2007-04-15 09:04:18] helly@php.net Thank you for taking the time to write to us, but this is not a bug. Please double-check the documentation available at http://www.php.net/manual/ and the instructions on how to report a bug at http://bugs.php.net/how-to-report.php Calling scope matters ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2007-04-15 01:12:20] ozone at cname dot com Description: ------------ The page on Visibility states: "Private limits visibility only to the class that defines the item." Apparently, private methods may not be superseded by a child of that class; in the following code, a new object e inherits the __constructor() which calls "$this->df", but because f() is declared private, it is silently not overridden. This behavior may not constitute a "bug" in the context of PHP inheritance, but it deserves a warning message and/or some mention in the documentation. Note that if f() is declared protected (or public) in both classes, inheritance works as expected; if the two f()s are declared with differing protection, an error message results, which is somewhat ironic considering the above-described silent failure mode. Reproduce code: --------------- class d { function __construct() { $this->f(); } private function f() { echo "d->f()\n"; } } class e extends d { private function f() { echo "e->f()\n"; } } $t = new e(); Expected result: ---------------- e->f() (Because $this refers to an instance of e when it is executed.) Actual result: -------------- d->f() ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at http://bugs.php.net/?id=41090&edit=1