Private and protected variables in PHP 5?
| From: | Paul Hudson | Date: | Fri, 11 Jul 2003 21:21:54 +0000 |
| Subject: | Private and protected variables in PHP 5? | ||
| Groups: | php.general | ||
| Request: | Send a blank email to php-general+get-154934@lists.php.net to get a copy of this message | ||
All,
I'm toying with the new stuff available in PHP 5 (latest CVS), but I've hit a
brick wall: both private and protected don't seem to work as I'd expect them
to.
Here's an example script:
<?php
class dog {
// declare two private variables
private $Name;
private $DogTag;
public function bark() {
print "Woof!\n";
}
}
// new class, for testing derived stuff
class poodle extends dog {
public function bark() {
print "Yip!\n";
}
}
// I now create an instance of the
// derived class
$poppy = new poodle;
// and set its private property
$poppy->Name = "Poppy";
print $poppy->Name;
?>
For some reason, that script works fine - PHP doesn't object to me setting
private variables in the derived class. Yet if I use "$poppy = new dog", the
script errors out as expected. It's almost like PHP inherits the member
variables, but not the attached access control.
For protected, here's another script:
<?php
class dog {
// this next function is protected
// viz, it should be available to dog
// and its children
protected function bark() {
print "Woof!\n";
}
}
class poodle extends dog {
// nothing happening here
}
$mydog = new poodle;
// I now call the protected function
$mydog->bark();
?>
That script errors out saying that I can't call the protected function bark -
surely, being protected, it should be available in the poodle class too?
Of course, it might be that these two pieces of functionality are not yet
implemented in PHP, or, more likely, that I'm just misinterpreting the
documentation! ;)
If you have any insight, please CC me into your response to the list.
Thanks,
Paul