PHP OOP - Classes and Objects

An object is an instance of a class, which serves as a template for other objects.

Let us suppose we have such a Fruit class. A Fruit can have attributes such as a name, colour, weight, and so on. To store the values of these properties, we can declare variables such as $name, $colour, and $weight.

They inherit the class properties and behaviours when they are generated as individual objects (apple, banana, etc.), but each object will have a unique set of attributes.

When defining a class, the class keyword is used, followed by the class name and a set of curly braces({}). They contain all of its characteristics and methods :

Syntax :-

<?php
class class_name {
  // code goes here...
}
?>

Example 1 :- There is a property ($name) in the Fruit class, as well as set_name() and get_name() for setting and retrieving $name, respectively :

<?php
class Fruit 
{
  // Properties
  public $name;
  // Methods
  function set_name($name) {
    $this->name = $name;
  }
  function get_name() {
    return $this->name;
  }
}
?>

Note : Variables are referred to as properties in a class, and functions are referred to as methods!

A class can have number of properties and methods.

All names (class, property, method) are user defined.

Example 2 :- There are three properties ($name, $dept, and $salary) in the Employee class, as well as there are six methods for setting and retrieving, their values respectively.

<?php
class Employee 
{
  // Properties
  public $name, $dept, $salary;
  // Methods
  function set_name($name) {
    $this->name = $name;
  }
  function get_name() {
    return $this->name;
  }
  function set_dept($dept) {
    $this->dept = $dept;
  }
  function get_dept() {
    return $this->dept;
  }
  function set_salary($salary) {
    $this->salary = $salary;
  }
  function get_salary() {
    return $this->salary;
  }
}
?>

Example 3 :- There are two properties ($a and $b) in the Calculator class, as well as there are four methods for making operations like addition and subtraction, respectively.

<?php
class Calculator 
{
  // Properties
  public $a, $b;
  // Methods
  function setA($a) {
    $this->a = $a;
  }
  function setB($b) {
    $this->b = $b;
  }
  function addAB()
  {
    $c = $this->a + $this->b;
    echo "Addition is : " . $c;
  }
  function subAB()
  {
    $c = $this->a - $this->b;
    echo "Subtraction is : " . $c;
  }
}
?>

Classes are meaningless without objects! A class can be used to create many objects. In addition to the properties and methods defined in the class, each object will have a unique set of values for each of its properties.

The new keyword is used to create single object of a class.

Syntax:-

object_name = new class_name();

Example :- Creating 3 objects of Fruit class and Creating 2 objects of Employee class.

<?php
//  Create 3 objects of Fruit class
$apple = new Fruit();
$mango = new Fruit();
$grape = new Fruit();

//  Create 2 objects of Employee class
$john = new Employee();
$rohan = new Employee();
?>

Access Properties and Methods of Class using Object

Now we can see, how to access a class member (propety and method) using an object.

Syntax :-

//  Access a propety
object_name->property_name;
//  Access a method
object_name->method_name();

Example :-

//  $apple from Fruit class
$apple->set_name("apple");  // Calling Method
echo $apple->get_name();    // Calling Method
//  $john from Employee class
$john->name = "john";       // Accessing Property
$john->dept = "sales";      // Accessing Property
$john->set_salary(12000);   // Calling Method
echo $john->get_name();     // Calling Method
echo $john->dept;           // Accessing Property
echo $john->salary;         // Accessing Property

Now we will see a complete program for creating class and objects.

Example :- In the following example, we create a class "Car" with related properties and methods.

<?php
class Car
{
public $name, $price, $color, $fuel;
function setName($name){   
    $this->name = $name;    
}
function setPrice($price){   
    $this->price = $price;    
}
function setColorAndFuel($color, $fuel){   
    $this->color = $color;
    $this->fuel = $fuel;
}
function getCarInfo(){   
    echo "Name = " . $this->name . "<br />";
    echo "Price = " . $this->price . "<br />";
    echo "Color = " . $this->color . "<br />";
    echo "Fuel = " . $this->fuel . "<br />";
}
}
//  We are going to create objects
$BMW = new Car();
$BMW->setName("BMW");
$BMW->setPrice(20000);
$BMW->setColorAndFuel("red", "Petrol");
$BMW->.getCarInfo();
$Volvo = new Car();
$Volvo->setName("Volvo");
$Volvo->setPrice(15000);
$Volvo->setColorAndFuel("black", "Diesel");
$Volvo->.getCarInfo();
?>

Output:-

The $this keyword is a readymade or built-in object for accessing class members (properties and methods) within inside a class.

It also called as current class object. Only inside methods is the $this keyword available, which relates to the current object.

Note:- In PHP, All class members (except static members) are accessed by object inside or outside the class.