Why my php class does not save it's property?

Question

Consider this sample code

<?php
class MyAwesomeClass {
    public $myawesomeproperty = 'test';

    public function __construct() {
        $self = new stdClass();

        $self->myawesomeproperty = "hello guys!";
    }
}

$test_obj = new MyAwesomeClass();

echo '<pre>';
var_export( $test_obj );
echo '</pre>';
?>

It's supposed to set "myawesomeproperty" to a new string so var_export shows "hello guys!" in the output.

What I'm actually getting is

MyAwesomeClass::__set_state(array(
   'myawesomeproperty' => 'test',
))

Apparently the construct function does not save anything to actual object.

Why is this happening? What am I missing?

Do not use "short open tags" they are long deprecated and very server-specific. Always open your code with ` — miken32, Feb 18 '17 at 19:24

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 18 '17 at 19:21

1

You're setting the property of a local variable called $self. If you want to change the object's property, use $this instead:

<?php
class MyAwesomeClass {
    public $myawesomeproperty = 'test';

    public function __construct() {
        $this->myawesomeproperty = "hello guys!";
    }
}

$test_obj = new MyAwesomeClass();

echo '<pre>';
var_export( $test_obj );
echo '</pre>';
?>

answered Feb 18 '17 at 19:21

miken32

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Ok, you are right, I mistakenly used "$self->" thinking it would work like "self::" but with public properties, now [this](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/151969/when-to-use-self-over-this) actually cleared my mind completely.Thanks for your answer. The most stupid mistakes are so obvious when pointed at :D – L1Q Feb 18 '17 at 19:30

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 18 '17 at 19:21

You are creating a different object ($self) inside the constructor. You aren't doing anything with it, so the object is removed from memory when php leaves the function scope.

To overwrite a property of the object attached to the current function scope, use $this->myawesomeproperty="Hello Guys";

Why my php class does not save it's property?

2 Answers2