{"id":533,"date":"2021-03-19T10:08:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T10:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/?page_id=533"},"modified":"2025-04-07T11:54:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T11:54:12","slug":"php-__call","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.phptutorial.net\/php-oop\/php-__call\/","title":{"rendered":"PHP __call"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Summary<\/strong>: in this tutorial, you will learn about the PHP <code>__call()<\/code> magic method and how to use it to wrap existing functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='introduction-to-the-php-__call-magic-method'>Introduction to the PHP __call magic method <a href=\"#introduction-to-the-php-__call-magic-method\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"introduction-to-the-php-__call-magic-method\" title=\"Anchor for Introduction to the PHP __call magic method\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you call a method of an object, if the method does not exist or is private, PHP will call the <code>__call()<\/code> method automatically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following shows the syntax of the <code>__call()<\/code> method:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-1\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">public<\/span> __call ( string $name , <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">array<\/span> $arguments ) : mixed<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-1\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>The <code>__call()<\/code> method accepts two arguments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>$name<\/code> is the name of the method that you call on the object.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>$arguments<\/code> is an array of arguments you pass to to the method call.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>__call()<\/code> method is useful when you want to create a wrapper <a href=\"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/php-oop\/php-objects\/\">class<\/a> that wraps existing API.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='php-__call-magic-method-example'>PHP __call() magic method example <a href=\"#php-__call-magic-method-example\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"php-__call-magic-method-example\" title=\"Anchor for PHP __call() magic method example\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Suppose that you want to develop the <code>Str<\/code> class that wraps existing string functions such as <code>strlen()<\/code>, <code>strtoupp()<\/code> and <code>strtolower()<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, you can define these methods explicitly like length, upper, lower, &#8230;  Doing so would take time. Instead, you can use utilize the <code>__call()<\/code> magic method to make the code more concise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following defines the Str class that uses the <code>__call()<\/code> magic method:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-2\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-meta\">&lt;?php<\/span>\n\n<span class=\"hljs-class\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">class<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-title\">Str<\/span>\n<\/span>{\n\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">private<\/span> $s = <span class=\"hljs-string\">''<\/span>;\n\n\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">private<\/span> $functions = &#91;\n\t\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'length'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'strlen'<\/span>,\n\t\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'upper'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'strtoupper'<\/span>,\n\t\t<span class=\"hljs-string\">'lower'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'strtolower'<\/span>\n                <span class=\"hljs-string\">'substring'<\/span> =&gt; <span class=\"hljs-string\">'substr'<\/span>\n  \t\t<span class=\"hljs-comment\">\/\/ map more method to functions<\/span>\n\t];\n\n\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">public<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-function\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">function<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-title\">__construct<\/span><span class=\"hljs-params\">(string $s)<\/span>\n\t<\/span>{\n\t\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">$this<\/span>-&gt;s = $s;\n\t}\n\n\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">public<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-function\"><span class=\"hljs-keyword\">function<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-title\">__call<\/span><span class=\"hljs-params\">($method, $args)<\/span>\n\t<\/span>{\n\t\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">if<\/span> (!in_array($method, array_keys(<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">$this<\/span>-&gt;functions))) {\n\t\t\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">throw<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">new<\/span> BadMethodCallException();\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tarray_unshift($args, <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">$this<\/span>-&gt;s);\n\n\t\t<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">return<\/span> call_user_func_array(<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">$this<\/span>-&gt;functions&#91;$method], $args);\n\t}\n}<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-2\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>How it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>$functions<\/code> property store the mapping between the methods and built-in string functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you call the <code>length()<\/code> method on a string object, the <code>__call()<\/code> method will call the <code>strlen()<\/code> function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you call a method on an instance of the <code>Str<\/code> class and that method doesn&#8217;t exist e.g., <code>length()<\/code>, PHP will invoke the <code>__call()<\/code> method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <code>__call()<\/code> method will raise a <code>BadMethodCallException<\/code> if the method is not supported. Otherwise, it&#8217;ll add the string to the argument list before calling the corresponding function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following shows how to uses the <code>Str<\/code> class:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-3\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-meta\">&lt;?php<\/span>\n\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">require<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Str.php'<\/span>;\n\n$s = <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">new<\/span> Str(<span class=\"hljs-string\">'Hello, World!'<\/span>);\n\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">echo<\/span> $s-&gt;upper() . <span class=\"hljs-string\">'&lt;br&gt;'<\/span>; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">\/\/ HELLO, WORLD!<\/span>\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">echo<\/span> $s-&gt;lower() . <span class=\"hljs-string\">'&lt;br&gt;'<\/span>; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">\/\/ hello, world!<\/span>\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">echo<\/span> $s-&gt;length() . <span class=\"hljs-string\">'&lt;br&gt;'<\/span>; <span class=\"hljs-comment\">\/\/ 13<\/span><\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-3\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/playground\/?q=PD9waHAKCmNsYXNzIFN0cgp7Cglwcml2YXRlICRzID0gJyc7CgoJcHJpdmF0ZSAkZnVuY3Rpb25zID0gWwoJCSdsZW5ndGgnID0-ICdzdHJsZW4nLAoJCSd1cHBlcicgPT4gJ3N0cnRvdXBwZXInLAoJCSdsb3dlcicgPT4gJ3N0cnRvbG93ZXInCgkJLy8gbWFwIG1vcmUgbWV0aG9kIHRvIGZ1bmN0aW9ucwoJXTsKCglwdWJsaWMgZnVuY3Rpb24gX19jb25zdHJ1Y3Qoc3RyaW5nICRzKQoJewoJCSR0aGlzLT5zID0gJHM7Cgl9CgoJcHVibGljIGZ1bmN0aW9uIF9fY2FsbCgkbWV0aG9kLCAkYXJncykKCXsKCQlpZiAoIWluX2FycmF5KCRtZXRob2QsIGFycmF5X2tleXMoJHRoaXMtPmZ1bmN0aW9ucykpKSB7CgkJCXRocm93IG5ldyBCYWRNZXRob2RDYWxsRXhjZXB0aW9uKCk7CgkJfQoKCQlhcnJheV91bnNoaWZ0KCRhcmdzLCAkdGhpcy0-cyk7CgoJCXJldHVybiBjYWxsX3VzZXJfZnVuY19hcnJheSgkdGhpcy0-ZnVuY3Rpb25zWyRtZXRob2RdLCAkYXJncyk7Cgl9Cn0KCiRzID0gbmV3IFN0cignSGVsbG8sIFdvcmxkIScpOwoKZWNobyAkcy0-dXBwZXIoKSAuICc8YnI-JzsgLy8gSEVMTE8sIFdPUkxEIQplY2hvICRzLT5sb3dlcigpIC4gJzxicj4nOyAvLyBoZWxsbywgd29ybGQhCmVjaG8gJHMtPmxlbmd0aCgpIC4gJzxicj4nOyAvLyAxMw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-4\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\">HELLO, WORLD!\nhello, world!\n<span class=\"hljs-number\">13<\/span><\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-4\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>In this example, the <code>$args<\/code> of the <code>__call()<\/code> method is an empty string. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following example shows how to call the substring method:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-5\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\"><span class=\"hljs-meta\">&lt;?php<\/span>\n\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">require<\/span> <span class=\"hljs-string\">'Str.php'<\/span>;\n\n$s = <span class=\"hljs-keyword\">new<\/span> Str(<span class=\"hljs-string\">'phptutorial.net'<\/span>);\n<span class=\"hljs-keyword\">echo<\/span> $s-&gt;substring(<span class=\"hljs-number\">0<\/span>,<span class=\"hljs-number\">11<\/span>);<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-5\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/phptutorial.net\/playground\/?q=PD9waHAKCmNsYXNzIFN0cgp7Cglwcml2YXRlICRzID0gJyc7CgoJcHJpdmF0ZSAkZnVuY3Rpb25zID0gWwoJCSdsZW5ndGgnID0-ICdzdHJsZW4nLAoJCSd1cHBlcicgPT4gJ3N0cnRvdXBwZXInLAoJCSdsb3dlcicgPT4gJ3N0cnRvbG93ZXInLAogICAgICAgICdzdWJzdHJpbmcnID0-ICdzdWJzdHInCiAgCQkvLyBtYXAgbW9yZSBtZXRob2QgdG8gZnVuY3Rpb25zCgldOwoKCXB1YmxpYyBmdW5jdGlvbiBfX2NvbnN0cnVjdChzdHJpbmcgJHMpCgl7CgkJJHRoaXMtPnMgPSAkczsKCX0KCglwdWJsaWMgZnVuY3Rpb24gX19jYWxsKCRtZXRob2QsICRhcmdzKQoJewoJCWlmICghaW5fYXJyYXkoJG1ldGhvZCwgYXJyYXlfa2V5cygkdGhpcy0-ZnVuY3Rpb25zKSkpIHsKCQkJdGhyb3cgbmV3IEJhZE1ldGhvZENhbGxFeGNlcHRpb24oKTsKCQl9CgoJCWFycmF5X3Vuc2hpZnQoJGFyZ3MsICR0aGlzLT5zKTsKCgkJcmV0dXJuIGNhbGxfdXNlcl9mdW5jX2FycmF5KCR0aGlzLT5mdW5jdGlvbnNbJG1ldGhvZF0sICRhcmdzKTsKCX0KfQoKJHMgPSBuZXcgU3RyKCdwaHB0dXRvcmlhbC5uZXQnKTsKZWNobyAkcy0-c3Vic3RyaW5nKDAsMTEpOw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Try it<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Output:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-6\" data-shcb-language-name=\"PHP\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"php\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-php\">phptutorial<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-6\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">PHP<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">php<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>In this example, the <code>$args<\/code> argument of the <code>__call()<\/code> method is <code>[0,11]<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id='summary'>Summary <a href=\"#summary\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"summary\" title=\"Anchor for Summary\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <code>__call()<\/code> method is invoked automatically when a nonexisting method or an inaccessible method is called.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use the <code>__call()<\/code> method to wrap existing API into a class.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div 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