Re: [PHP4BETA] runtime class information

Hi George :) I was reading about your ideas about getting RTTI info on member functions of a class and would like to give a comment on why it wouldn't be needed. First example: > -------- > class URL { > var $name; > var $address; > function write_link() { > print "<A HREF=\"$this->name\">$this->address</A>"; > } > } > > function print_item($obj) { > print "<FONT FACE=\"Arial, Helvetica\" SIZE=\"3\">"; > if method_exists($obj, "write_link") { > $obj->write_link(); > } > print "</FONT>"; > } > My suggestion: Move the print_item function into the object instead. Your class should know what function to call in order to get the desired output. For all your classes, make a print_item function. Second example: > ---------- > function print_item($object, $outputmethod) { > print "<FONT FACE=\"Arial, Helvetica\" SIZE=\"3\">"; > if (method_exists($obj, $outputmethod)) { > $object->$outputmethod; > } > print "</A>"; > } > > Then I can call print_item for any object, regardless of how its coded, > if I have a method that can produce the output. Or I might have class > that holds more than a simple URL, and I might want member functions > that print different things, and it'd be cool to be able to call them > like in the example above. > Again, make it the other way around, let the objects handle their own printing, thats one of the great things about OO, you should treat it as a "black box" that has a simple interface and takes care of all it's variables and functions without you having to know about them. It's still general as long as you have a print_item function in all yout classes... > On a side note, has there been any talk of differentiating between > public and private methods? I have an extensive class library that gets > used on a bunch of client sites that consists of about 50 classes, each > has probably 10 member functions. Most member functions I don't want the > client code to be able to use, but I've found myself from time to time > cutting corners and using them even thought *I* know I shouldn't. Yeah, i agree with you there, it would be really nice to have public/private methods and variables :) /Johan Isacsson