automatic include mechanism in PHP

Question

Is there a way I can include files same folder automatically?

I see lot of code in application I am working on that has this kind of code. Specific example is swift mailer (if anyone is aware of that). But this can also be used as general example:

 Folder: vendor\swiftmailer\swiftmailer\lib\classes\Swift\Transport

 |
 --- File MailInvoker.php
                 |
                 --- interface Swift_Transport_MailInvoker
 |
 --- File SimpleMailInvoker.php
                 |
                 --- class Swift_Transport_SimpleMailInvoker implements Swift_Transport_MailInvoker

I am unable to figure out without any specific include statements or without any mention in any of autoload files, how class can use interface.

Thanks in advance for help!

Is this in a framework project? With that folder structure, I assume it's probably using the composer autoloader. — Don't Panic, Nov 13 '17 at 16:33

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 13 '17 at 16:44

You can load classes automatic. See http://php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.autoload.php for the offical documentation.

Basically you create a function to load classes and register it with spl_autoload_register('autoloader_function_name'); That function will be executed when the class isn't already included.

You can find the swift autoloader in the file swiftmailer/lib/classes/Swift.php as public static function autoload($class)

Here, on stackoverflow, there are a many examples too: Best Way To Autoload Classes In PHP

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 13 '17 at 16:57

Composer is the best tool to autoload files, all modern frameworks use composer. To autoload a folder files you should inialize autoloading system and then follow some standards in file naming. You can read this tutorial for more information about composer

automatic include mechanism in PHP

2 Answers2