Object Oriented PHP
From Understanding and Applying Polymorphism in PHP :
Polymorphism is a long word for a very simple concept.
Polymorphism describes a pattern in object oriented programming in which classes have different functionality while sharing a common interface.
The beauty of polymorphism is that the code working with the different classes does not need to know which class it is using since they’re all used the same way.
A real world analogy for polymorphism is a button. Everyone knows how to use a button: you simply apply pressure to it. What a button “does,” however, depends on what it is connected to and the context in which it is used — but the result does not affect how it is used. If your boss tells you to press a button, you already have all the information needed to perform the task.
In the programming world, polymorphism is used to make applications more modular and extensible. Instead of messy conditional statements describing different courses of action, you create interchangeable objects that you select based on your needs. That is the basic goal of polymorphism.
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<html> <head> <title><?php echo "PHP Object Oriented Programming";?></title> </head> <body> <?php /* Object Oriented Programming allows you to model real world objects. Every object has attributes and things it can do (Operations / Functions / Methods) You define those things in a class which is a blueprint for creating objects. */ class Animal implements Singable{ /* You define attributes like this. The private means that only methods in the class can access this data public would mean that any code could directly access and change the values for these attributes. Attributes that are private won't be inherited as you'll see but those that are public or protected are By making sure our data can only be changed by the class operations we are inencapsulating or protecting it. */ protected $name; protected $favorite_food; protected $sound; protected $id; // A static attribute is shared by every object. If its // value changes for one it changes for all public static $number_of_animals = 0; // A constant is also shared const PI = "3.14159"; // You define methods just like you define functions in a class function getName(){ // To refer to data stored in an object you proceed the name // of the attribute with $this->yourAttribute return $this->name; } // A Construtor is used to initialize objects when they are // created or instantiated function __construct(){ // Generate a random id between 1 and 1000000 $this->id = rand(100, 1000000); echo $this->id . " has been assigned<br />"; // You access static attributes with Class::$static_att Animal::$number_of_animals++; } // A Destructor is called when all references to the object have // been unset. It cannot receive attributes public function __destruct(){ echo $this->name . " is being destroyed :("; } // You can also use magic setters and getters which are called // when an attribute is set, or if its value is asked for function __get($name){ echo "Asked for " . $name . "<br />"; return $this->$name; } // If you want to check for a valid attribute you could use switch function __set($name, $value){ switch($name){ case "name": $this->name = $value; break; case "favorite_food": $this->favorite_food = $value; break; case "sound": $this->sound = $value; break; default : echo $name . "Not Found"; } echo "Set " . $name . " to " . $value . "<br />"; } // 2. We will override this method in the subclass function run(){ echo $this->name . " runs<br />"; } // 3. To keep a method from being overridden use final // You can use final on a class to keep classes from // being overridden as well final function what_is_good(){ echo "Running is Good<br />"; } // 4. You can use __toString to define what prints when // the object is called to print function __toString(){ return $this->name . " says " . $this->sound . " give me some ". $this->favorite_food . " my id is " . $this->id . " total animals = " . Animal::$number_of_animals . "<br /><br />"; } // 5. You must define any function defined in an interface public function sing(){ echo $this->name . " sings 'Grrrr grr grrr grrrrrrrrr'<br />"; } // 7. static methods can be called without the need for instantiation static function add_these($num1, $num2){ return ($num1 + $num2) . "<br />"; } } // Inheritance occurs when you create a new class by extending another // You will inherit all of the Attributes and Methods defined in the first // You don't have to do anything in the class and it will still work class Dog extends Animal implements Singable{ // 2. You can override functions defined in the superclass function run(){ echo $this->name . " runs like crazy<br />"; } // 5. You must define any function defined in an interface public function sing(){ echo $this->name . " sings 'Bow wow, woooow, woooooooooow'<br />"; } } // 5. PHP doesn't allow muliple inheritance // You need to use interfaces to get similar results // Interfaces allow you to define functions that must be implemented interface Singable{ public function sing(); } $animal_one = new Animal(); // These call __set $animal_one->name = "Spot"; $animal_one->favorite_food = "Meat"; $animal_one->sound = "Ruff"; // The statements $animal_one->att_name call __get // We call static attributes like this Class::$static_var echo $animal_one->name . " says " . $animal_one->sound . " give me some ". $animal_one->favorite_food . " my id is " . $animal_one->id . " total animals = " . Animal::$number_of_animals . "<br /><br />"; // If we defined a constant in the class we would get its // value like this Class::CONTANT echo "Favorite Number " . Animal::PI . "<br />"; $animal_two = new Dog(); $animal_two->name = "Grover"; $animal_two->favorite_food = "Mushrooms"; $animal_two->sound = "Grrrrrrr"; // Even though we are referring to the Dog $number_of_animals it // still increases even with subclasses echo $animal_two->name . " says " . $animal_two->sound . " give me some ". $animal_two->favorite_food . " my id is " . $animal_two->id . " total animals = " . Dog::$number_of_animals . "<br /><br />"; // 2. Because of method overriding we get different results $animal_one->run(); $animal_two->run(); // 3. final methods can't be overriden $animal_one->what_is_good(); // 4. Example using __toString() echo $animal_two; // 5. You call a method defined in an interface like all others $animal_two->sing(); // 6. You can also define functions that will except classes // extending a secific class or interface function make_them_sing(Singable $singing_animal){ $singing_animal->sing(); } // 6. Polymorphism states that different classes can have different // behaviors for the same function. The compiler is smart enough to // just figure out which function to execute make_them_sing($animal_one); make_them_sing($animal_two); echo "<br />"; function sing_animal(Animal $singing_animal){ $singing_animal->sing(); } sing_animal($animal_one); sing_animal($animal_two); // 7. Calling a static method echo "3+5= " . Animal::add_these(3,5); // 8. You can check the class type with instanceof $is_it_an_animal = ($animal_two instanceof Animal) ? "True" : "False"; echo "It is " . $is_it_an_animal . ' that $animal_one is an Animal<br />'; // 9. You can clone objects and even define just what you want available // to clone in __clone() if it is in the class definition $animal_clone = clone $animal_one; // 10. You can define abstract classes and methods // An abstract class can't be instantiated, but instead forces classes // that implement it to override every abstract method in it /* abstract class RandomClass{ abstract function RandomFunction($attrib1); } */ // 11. __call() if defined in a class can provide method overloading // but since PHP isn't strongly typed I see no reason to use it ?> </body> </html>