php - setter of objects is not called

Question

I have the following issue:

The current code of an application I'm working on contains a very large number of definitions like this:

$obj = new stdClass();
$obj->a->b = "something";

This results in: PHP Strict Standards: Creating default object from empty value in [somewhere].

The correct form would be:

$obj = new stdClass();
$obj->a = new stdClass();
$obj->a->b = "something";

Now the problem: Replacing this throughout the code would take ages (consider thousands of cases, with conditions, etc.).

So I was thinking of replacing stdClass with a custom object (this would be a simple replace in code), creating a setter for it that verifies if the variable property is an object, and defines it as object if it is before setting the second property.

So we get:

class MockObject() {
    public function __set($property, $value) {
        // Do stuff here
    }
}

$obj = new MockObject();
$object->a->b = "something";

The problem is that when executing $object->a->b = "something"; setter is not called (because you don't actually set the a property, but the b property).

Is there any way around this? Or is other solution possible?

Note: Explicitly calling the __set() method is not a solution since it would be the same as defining properties as stdClass().

Blaatpraat · Accepted Answer · 2015-01-27 10:41:29Z

3

You know about the magic setter. Use a magic getter also.

If it wants to get a var that does not exists: create one (in an array or something like that) that is an instance of that class.

answered Jan 27, 2015 at 10:41

Blaatpraat

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2 Comments

zozo Over a year ago

Ah... you are right. Ty. Seems I'm very tired that did not think of that. +1.

Blaatpraat Over a year ago

Even after your update, my answer remains the same. If you want to set something to a subclass that is not set (and pretends to be a StdClass), just make use of a magic getter. And for the setting you can use the magic Setter. Set the vars into an array with the right key, and that should fix your described problem.

johnkork · Accepted Answer · 2015-01-27 10:40:49Z

0

Why don't you initialize your b variable in the constructor of the A class ?

 public function __construct()
 {
   $this->b = new B();
 }

answered Jan 27, 2015 at 10:40

johnkork

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1 Comment

zozo Over a year ago

Because I don't know what b is (it is dynamic). b can be contactDetails, orders, services, anything.

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