So, method_exists()
requires an object to see if a method exists. But I want to know if a method exists from within the same class.
I have a method that process some info and can receive an action, that runs a method to further process that info. I want to check if the method exists before calling it. How can I achieve it?
Example:
class Foo{
public function bar($info, $action = null){
//Process Info
$this->$action();
}
}
You can do something like this:
class A{
public function foo(){
echo "foo";
}
public function bar(){
if(method_exists($this, 'foo')){
echo "method exists";
}else{
echo "method does not exist";
}
}
}
$obj = new A;
$obj->bar();
Using method_exists
is correct. However if you want to conform to the "Interface Segregation Principle", you will create an interface to perform introspection against, like so:
class A
{
public function doA()
{
if ($this instanceof X) {
$this->doX();
}
// statement
}
}
interface X
{
public function doX();
}
class B extends A implements X
{
public function doX()
{
// statement
}
}
$a = new A();
$a->doA();
// Does A::doA() only
$b = new B();
$b->doA();
// Does B::doX(), then remainder of A::doA()
method_exists()
accepts either a class name or object instance as a parameter. So you could check against $this
http://php.net/manual/en/function.method-exists.php
Parameters ¶
object
An object instance or a class name
method_name
The method name
The best way in my opinion is to use __call magic method.
public function __call($name, $arguments)
{
throw new Exception("Method {$name} is not supported.");
}
Yes, you can use method_exists($this ...) but this is the internal PHP way.