Object operator in PHP (->)

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Reference - What does this symbol mean in PHP?

Sorry for being so pedantic about this, but I'm confused about the object operator (->). What exactly is it doing and how (to avoid errors and misusing) do I use it?

Please reference [What does this symbol mean in PHP](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3737139/reference-what-does-this-symbol-mean-in-php) — Nightfirecat, Aug 08 '11 at 22:22

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 30 '14 at 09:42

In order to use the object operator, you will need to create and instantiate a class, as follows:

class MyClass {
  public $myVar;

  public function myMethod() {

  }
}

$instance = new MyClass();

$instance->myVar = "Hello World"; // Assign "Hello World" to "myVar"
$instance->myMethod(); // Run "myMethod()"

Let me explain the above code:

First, a class with a name of "MyClass" is created, with a variable of "myVar" and a method (basically a function within a class) with a name of "myMethod".
"$instance" is created, and then it is assigned a new instance of the "MyClass" class.
$instance->myVar, with the object operator accesses the public instance variable within the $instance object, and assigns it a value of "Hello World". Similarly, the "myMethod" is called within the $instance object, also using the object operator.

The object operator is simply PHPs way of accessing, running, or assigning "stuff" within an object.

Hope that helps.

To all of you, thanks a lot :) That was very helpful. – Max Z. Aug 08 '11 at 22:36 — Max Z., Aug 08 '11 at 22:36

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 08 '11 at 22:22

5

its just like the . in other languages. eg, if you have a object called ball with method bounce(), in most languages it would be

ball.bounce();

in php it is

ball->bounce();

answered Aug 08 '11 at 22:22

kennypu

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In other languages, `.` would also do what `::` does in PHP, so this comparison might get confusing. – rid Aug 08 '11 at 22:25
@Max, no, `=>` has nothing to do with `->`, it's something completely different. – rid Aug 08 '11 at 22:25
1

As I said, I was confused... @miku posted a link further down which clarified it :) – Max Z. Aug 08 '11 at 22:26
ahh, sorry about the confusion, just thought a simple example would be easier to understand. – kennypu Aug 08 '11 at 22:28
Thank you so much, coming from Java this is a great way of explaining it! – nmu Dec 11 '15 at 10:18

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 08 '11 at 22:23

The object operator, "->", is used in object scope to access methods and properties of an object. It's meaning is to say that what is on the right of the operator is a member of the object instantiated into the variable on the left side of the operator.

From: http://www.robert-gonzalez.com/2009/03/04/php-operators-double-and-single-arrow/

Other languages use the dot notation for this, like obj.meth().

Object operator in PHP (->)

3 Answers3