get_class
(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)
get_class — Returns the name of the class of an object
Description
$object = ?): string
Gets the name of the class of the given object.
Parameters
-
object -
The tested object. This parameter may be omitted when inside a class.
Note: Explicitly passing
nullas theobjectis no longer allowed as of PHP 7.2.0 and emits anE_WARNING. As of PHP 8.0.0, a TypeError is emitted whennullis used.
Return Values
Returns the name of the class of which object is an
instance.
If object is omitted when inside a class, the
name of that class is returned.
If the object is an instance of a class which exists
in a namespace, the qualified namespaced name of that class is returned.
Errors/Exceptions
If get_class() is called with anything other than an
object, TypeError is raised. Prior to PHP 8.0.0,
an E_WARNING level error was raised.
If get_class() is called with no arguments from outside a class,
Error is raised. Prior to PHP 8.0.0,
an E_WARNING level error was raised.
Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 8.0.0 |
Calling this function from outside a class, without any arguments, will
trigger an Error. Previously,
an E_WARNING was raised
and the function returned false.
|
| 7.2.0 |
Prior to this version the default value for object
was null and it had the same effect as not passing any value. Now
null has been removed as the default value for object,
and is no longer a valid input.
|
Examples
Example #1 Using get_class()
<?php
class foo {
function name()
{
echo "My name is " , get_class($this) , "\n";
}
}
// create an object
$bar = new foo();
// external call
echo "Its name is " , get_class($bar) , "\n";
// internal call
$bar->name();
?>
The above example will output:
Its name is foo My name is foo
Example #2 Using get_class() in superclass
<?php
abstract class bar {
public function __construct()
{
var_dump(get_class($this));
var_dump(get_class());
}
}
class foo extends bar {
}
new foo;
?>
The above example will output:
string(3) "foo" string(3) "bar"
Example #3 Using get_class() with namespaced classes
<?php
namespace Foo\Bar;
class Baz {
public function __construct()
{
}
}
$baz = new \Foo\Bar\Baz;
var_dump(get_class($baz));
?>
The above example will output:
string(11) "Foo\Bar\Baz"
See Also
- get_called_class() - The "Late Static Binding" class name
- get_parent_class() - Retrieves the parent class name for object or class
- gettype() - Get the type of a variable
- get_debug_type() - Gets the type name of a variable in a way that is suitable for debugging
- is_subclass_of() - Checks if the object has this class as one of its parents or implements it
