call php function name from a string

Question

i created a php function to return or save some jsons, and the class looks like this.

<?php
    class calendarModel {

        // global variables
        var $user;
        var $action;
        var $connect;

        // init class
        function __construct($action = "getEvents") {
            $this->user = 1;

            $this->action = $action;

            $dbhost = "localhost";
            $dbport = "5432";
            $dbname = "fixevents";
            $dbuser = "postgres";
            $dbpass = "123";
            $this->connect = pg_connect("host=" . $dbhost . " port=" . $dbport . " dbname=" . $dbname . " user=" . $dbuser . " password=" . $dbpass);

            $this->executeAction();
        }

        // action router
        function executeAction() {
            if($this->action == "getEvents")
                $this->getEvents();
            else if($this->action == "moveEvent")
                $this->moveEvent();
            else if($this->action == "insertEvent")
                $this->insertEvent();
            else if($this->action == "updateEvent")
                $this->updateEvent();
            else if($this->action == "getCalendars")
                $this->getCalendars();
            else if($this->action == "toggleCalendar")
                $this->toggleCalendar();
            else if($this->action == "deleteCalendar")
                $this->deleteCalendar();
            else if($this->action == "insertCalendar")
                $this->insertCalendar();
        }

        // getEvents
        function getEvents() {
            //...
        }

        // moveEvent
        function moveEvent() {
            //...
        }

        // insertEvent
        function insertEvent() {
            //...
        }

        // updateEvent
        function updateEvent() {
            //...
        }

        // toggleCalendar
        function toggleCalendar() {
            //...
        }

        // deleteCalendar
        function deleteCalendar() {
            //...
        }

        // insertCalendar
        function insertCalendar() {
            //...
        }

    }

    // call class
    if(isset($_GET['action']))
        $instance = new calendarModel($_GET['action']);
    else
        $instance = new calendarModel();
?>

What i was wondering is, can i somehow call the action in the contruct from the string name instead make that big if / else if function called executeAction. Thank you in advance, Daniel!

@zerkms Hm, haven't used PHP for some time. I thought you can only pass strings in the array. Thanks for clearing it up. — kapa, Feb 12 '14 at 23:01
i tried call_user_func($action); and $action(); but they dont work — Pacuraru Daniel, Feb 12 '14 at 23:07
@Pacuraru Daniel: you probably read function documentation before using it. — zerkms, Feb 12 '14 at 23:09

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 12 '14 at 22:56

3

If you use an expression where the function name will be used, the value of the expression will be used as the function name:

function executeAction() {
    $this->{$this->action}();
}

Since you're getting the action from user input, make sure you validate it. Otherwise, someone could send input that makes you execute an arbitrary method.

answered Feb 12 '14 at 22:56

Barmar

741,623
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500
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thank you very much this works as intended :D i wish i could give you guys both correct answer :) – Pacuraru Daniel Feb 12 '14 at 23:11

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 12 '14 at 23:03

0

Barmar is almost correct: $this->{$action}();

answered Feb 12 '14 at 23:03

thank you very much for this, this works perfect, i dont even need to make the execute Action function anymore, i just called it like this inside the contruct – Pacuraru Daniel Feb 12 '14 at 23:09
1

This answer doesn't deserve to be checked, sorry – zerkms Feb 12 '14 at 23:09
`$action` is a class property, you need `$this->` – Barmar Feb 12 '14 at 23:12
actually i just used it exactly like this and it works for me, maybe it is because i am using it into the contructor – Pacuraru Daniel Feb 12 '14 at 23:14
ops, it was a lack of attention of my part :/ Barmar is correct :) – Feb 12 '14 at 23:18

Bernhard Frick · Answer 3 · 2014-02-12T23:15:21.983

0

Use something like that:

function __construct($action = "getEvents")
{
    ...
    $this->$action();
}

As $action is defined by the user, you might want to check whether $action is an existing function in your class:

if (array_key_exists($action, get_class_methods($this))) {
    $this->$action();
}

edited Feb 12 '14 at 23:15

answered Feb 12 '14 at 23:07

Bernhard Frick

119
1
11

call php function name from a string

3 Answers3