The ReflectionProperty class

    (PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

    Introduction

    The ReflectionProperty class reports information about class properties.

    Class synopsis

    class ReflectionProperty implements Reflector {
    /* Constants */
    public const int IS_STATIC;
    public const int IS_READONLY;
    public const int IS_PUBLIC;
    public const int IS_PROTECTED;
    public const int IS_PRIVATE;
    /* Properties */
    public string $name;
    public string $class;
    /* Methods */
    public __construct(object|string $class, string $property)
    private __clone(): void
    public static export(mixed $class, string $name, bool $return = ?): string
    public getAttributes(?string $name = null, int $flags = 0): array
    public getDeclaringClass(): ReflectionClass
    public getDefaultValue(): mixed
    public getDocComment(): string|false
    public getModifiers(): int
    public getName(): string
    public getType(): ?ReflectionType
    public getValue(?object $object = null): mixed
    public hasDefaultValue(): bool
    public hasType(): bool
    public isDefault(): bool
    public isInitialized(?object $object = null): bool
    public isPrivate(): bool
    public isPromoted(): bool
    public isProtected(): bool
    public isPublic(): bool
    public isReadOnly(): bool
    public isStatic(): bool
    public setAccessible(bool $accessible): void
    public setRawValueWithoutLazyInitialization(object $object, ?mixed $value): void
    public setValue(object $object, mixed $value): void
    public skipLazyInitialization(object $object): void
    public __toString(): string
    }

    Properties

    name

    Name of the property. Read-only, throws ReflectionException in attempt to write.

    class

    Name of the class where the property is defined. Read-only, throws ReflectionException in attempt to write.

    Predefined Constants

    ReflectionProperty Modifiers

    ReflectionProperty::IS_STATIC

    Indicates static properties. Prior to PHP 7.4.0, the value was 1.

    ReflectionProperty::IS_READONLY

    Indicates readonly properties. Available as of PHP 8.1.0.

    ReflectionProperty::IS_PUBLIC

    Indicates public properties. Prior to PHP 7.4.0, the value was 256.

    ReflectionProperty::IS_PROTECTED

    Indicates protected properties. Prior to PHP 7.4.0, the value was 512.

    ReflectionProperty::IS_PRIVATE

    Indicates private properties. Prior to PHP 7.4.0, the value was 1024.

    Note:

    The values of these constants may change between PHP versions. It is recommended to always use the constants and not rely on the values directly.

    Changelog

    Version Description
    8.0.0 ReflectionProperty::export() was removed.

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    User Contributed Notes 1 note

    up
    9
    rasmus at mindplay dot dk
    14 years ago
    I think a more accurate explanation is this:

    The Reflection classes are designed to reflect upon the source code of an application, not on any runtime information.

    I think you misunderstand the ReflectionProperty constructor in your example above. The fact that it accepts an object as argument is just a convenience feature - you are actually inspecting the class of that object, not the object itself, so it's basically equivalent to:

    <?php

    // works fine
    $Reflection = new ReflectionProperty(get_class($a), 'a');

    // throws exception
    $Reflection = new ReflectionProperty(get_class($a), 'foo');

    ?>

    Getting the class of the object you're passing in is implied, since inspecting a defined property is the purpose of this class.

    In your example, $a->foo is a dynamic member - it is not defined as a member of class, so there is no defining class reference, line number, default value, etc. - which means, there is nothing to reflect upon.

    Clearly this very useful library could use some real documentation...
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