PHP getter和setter

Question

I have a class:

class Test
{
    public $AppCount;
    public $Apps;

    // When $AppCount is accessed I want to return count( $this->Apps )
}

When I access property $AppCount , I want to return count( $this->Apps ) .

Rather than having to declare an exposing function for this property and making it private, can I use a getter function like C# and Java have?

Obviously the __get is not what i want in this case as the property does already exist.

For the comments

I have this and it does not run the function when i try and access the property:

class ProjectSettingsViewModel
{
    public $ProjectAppCount = 0;
    public $ProjectApps = array();

    public function __get( $property )
    {
        switch( $property )
        {
            case "ProjectAppCount":
                return count( $this->ProjectApps );
                break;
        }
    }
}

If the code seems okay, it must be something else going wrong.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, PHP does not have the getter and setter syntax you are referring to. It has been proposed , but it didn't make it into PHP (yet).

First of all, __get() is only executed if you are trying to access a property that can't be accessed (because it is protected or private , or because it does not exist). If you are calling a property that is public , __get() will never be executed.

However, I would not suggest using PHP's magic getters and setters unless you really have no other choice. They are slower, tend to become a long if/elseif/else mess very quickly, and code completion (using a smart IDE) will not work. Normal methods are a lot simpler and easier to understand. You should also read this answer .

I have used the __get() and __set() methods for a while (instead of manually created getFoo() and setFoo() methods), because it seemed like a good idea, but I've changed my mind after a short time.

So, in your case, I recommend writing normal methods:

<?php

class Test
{
    /**
     * @var App[]
     */
    private $apps;

    /**
     * Returns an array containing all apps
     *
     * @return App[]
     */
    public function getApps()
    {
        return $this->apps;
    }

    /**
     * Returns the number of apps
     *
     * @return integer
     */
    public function getAppsCount() //or call it countApps()
    {
        return count($this->apps);
    }
}

Answer 2

Untested.. Should work though. Using more magic methodology.

class ProjectSettingsViewModel
{
    protected $ProjectAppCount = 0;
    public $ProjectApps = array();

    public function __get( $property )
    {
        switch( $property )
        {
            case "ProjectAppCount":
                return count( $this->ProjectApps );
                break;
        }
    }
}