How to use a variable to call a function in PHP?

Question

is it possible to do something like this in php?

$this->getUser$number();

I can't find if there's somekinda syntax to make this possible.

Regards

Answer 1

Yes, there is:

$this->{"getUser".$number}();

Of course you can use the same syntax outside a method:

$obj = new Something();
$obj->{"getUser".$number}();

That said, code like this is a bad smell and should be avoided. For example, it's better to make the getUser method accept an argument and call it like this:

$this->getUser($number);

This way the call site remains "sane", while the implementation of getUser can use $number as e.g. an index into an array and also achieve much better clarity.

Answer 2

It's called OOP programming, it is used in most likely any big system. It is also used alot in a MVC application. Read more about OOP programming here; http://www.php.net//manual/en/language.oop5.php

These expression can also be used like this;

$this->$name

or even further to;

$this->name =& $name
$this->name = $${val}

Answer 3

It is not possible to use symbol $ as name of function. But on the other hand $this->getUserNumber(); you can use inside some class.

Answer 4

You can also do this as

$number = "10";
$func = "getUser".$number ;
$this->$func();

it'll call some function named

getUser10();

Answer 5

Yes you can do this:

   $methodName = 'getUser' . $number;
   $this->$methodName();