PHP OOP - Inheritance, PHP OOP - Abstract Classes,PHP OOP - Interfaces

 

PHP - What is Inheritance?

Inheritance in OOP = When a class derives from another class.

The child class will inherit all the public and protected properties and methods from the parent class. In addition, it can have its own properties and methods.

An inherited class is defined by using the extends keyword.

Let's look at an example:

Example

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
  public $color;
  public function __construct($name, $color) {
    $this->name = $name;
    $this->color = $color;
  }
  public function intro() {
    echo "The fruit is {$this->name} and the color is {$this->color}.";
  }
}

// Strawberry is inherited from Fruit
class Strawberry extends Fruit {
  public function message() {
    echo "Am I a fruit or a berry? ";
  }
}
$strawberry = new Strawberry("Strawberry", "red");
$strawberry->message();
$strawberry->intro();
?>

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Example Explained

The Strawberry class is inherited from the Fruit class.

This means that the Strawberry class can use the public $name and $color properties as well as the public __construct() and intro() methods from the Fruit class because of inheritance.

The Strawberry class also has its own method: message().

PHP - Inheritance and the Protected Access Modifier

In the previous chapter we learned that protected properties or methods can be accessed within the class and by classes derived from that class. What does that mean?

Let's look at an example:

Example

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
  public $color;
  public function __construct($name, $color) {
    $this->name = $name;
    $this->color = $color;
  }
  protected function intro() {
    echo "The fruit is {$this->name} and the color is {$this->color}.";
  }
}

class Strawberry extends Fruit {
  public function message() {
    echo "Am I a fruit or a berry? ";
  }
}

// Try to call all three methods from outside class
$strawberry = new Strawberry("Strawberry", "red");  // OK. __construct() is public
$strawberry->message(); // OK. message() is public
$strawberry->intro(); // ERROR. intro() is protected
?>

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In the example above we see that if we try to call a protected method (intro()) from outside the class, we will receive an error. public methods will work fine!

Let's look at another example:

Example

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
  public $color;
  public function __construct($name, $color) {
    $this->name = $name;
    $this->color = $color;
  }
  protected function intro() {
    echo "The fruit is {$this->name} and the color is {$this->color}.";
  }
}

class Strawberry extends Fruit {
  public function message() {
    echo "Am I a fruit or a berry? ";
    // Call protected method from within derived class - OK
    $this -> intro();
  }
}

$strawberry = new Strawberry("Strawberry", "red"); // OK. __construct() is public
$strawberry->message(); // OK. message() is public and it calls intro() (which is protected) from within the derived class
?>

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In the example above we see that all works fine! It is because we call the protected method (intro()) from inside the derived class.

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PHP - Overriding Inherited Methods

Inherited methods can be overridden by redefining the methods (use the same name) in the child class.

Look at the example below. The __construct() and intro() methods in the child class (Strawberry) will override the __construct() and intro() methods in the parent class (Fruit):

Example

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
  public $color;
  public function __construct($name, $color) {
    $this->name = $name;
    $this->color = $color;
  }
  public function intro() {
    echo "The fruit is {$this->name} and the color is {$this->color}.";
  }
}

class Strawberry extends Fruit {
  public $weight;
  public function __construct($name, $color, $weight) {
    $this->name = $name;
    $this->color = $color;
    $this->weight = $weight;
  }
  public function intro() {
    echo "The fruit is {$this->name}, the color is {$this->color}, and the weight is {$this->weight} gram.";
  }
}

$strawberry = new Strawberry("Strawberry", "red", 50);
$strawberry->intro();
?>

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PHP - The final Keyword

The final keyword can be used to prevent class inheritance or to prevent method overriding.

The following example shows how to prevent class inheritance:

Example

<?php
final class Fruit {
  // some code
}

// will result in error
class Strawberry extends Fruit {
  // some code
}
?>

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The following example shows how to prevent method overriding:

Example

<?php
class Fruit {
  final public function intro() {
    // some code
  }
}

class Strawberry extends Fruit {
  // will result in error
  public function intro() {
    // some code
  }
}
?>

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PHP - Class Constants

Constants cannot be changed once it is declared.

Class constants can be useful if you need to define some constant data within a class.

A class constant is declared inside a class with the const keyword.

Class constants are case-sensitive. However, it is recommended to name the constants in all uppercase letters.

We can access a constant from outside the class by using the class name followed by the scope resolution operator (::) followed by the constant name, like here:

Example

<?php
class Goodbye {
  const LEAVING_MESSAGE = "Thank you for visiting W3Schools.com!";
}

echo Goodbye::LEAVING_MESSAGE;
?>

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Or, we can access a constant from inside the class by using the self keyword followed by the scope resolution operator (::) followed by the constant name, like here:

Example

<?php
class Goodbye {
  const LEAVING_MESSAGE = "Thank you for visiting W3Schools.com!";
  public function byebye() {
    echo self::LEAVING_MESSAGE;
  }
}

$goodbye = new Goodbye();
$goodbye->byebye();
?>

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PHP OOP - Abstract Classes

PHP - What are Abstract Classes and Methods?

Abstract classes and methods are when the parent class has a named method, but need its child class(es) to fill out the tasks.

An abstract class is a class that contains at least one abstract method. An abstract method is a method that is declared, but not implemented in the code.

An abstract class or method is defined with the abstract keyword:

Syntax

<?php
abstract class ParentClass {
  abstract public function someMethod1();
  abstract public function someMethod2($name, $color);
  abstract public function someMethod3() : string;
}
?>

When inheriting from an abstract class, the child class method must be defined with the same name, and the same or a less restricted access modifier. So, if the abstract method is defined as protected, the child class method must be defined as either protected or public, but not private. Also, the type and number of required arguments must be the same. However, the child classes may have optional arguments in addition.

So, when a child class is inherited from an abstract class, we have the following rules:

• The child class method must be defined with the same name and it redeclares the parent abstract method
• The child class method must be defined with the same or a less restricted access modifier
• The number of required arguments must be the same. However, the child class may have optional arguments in addition

Let's look at an example:

Example

<?php
// Parent class
abstract class Car {
  public $name;
  public function __construct($name) {
    $this->name = $name;
  }
  abstract public function intro() : string;
}

// Child classes
class Audi extends Car {
  public function intro() : string {
    return "Choose German quality! I'm an $this->name!";
  }
}

class Volvo extends Car {
  public function intro() : string {
    return "Proud to be Swedish! I'm a $this->name!";
  }
}

class Citroen extends Car {
  public function intro() : string {
    return "French extravagance! I'm a $this->name!";
  }
}

// Create objects from the child classes
$audi = new audi("Audi");
echo $audi->intro();
echo "<br>";

$volvo = new volvo("Volvo");
echo $volvo->intro();
echo "<br>";

$citroen = new citroen("Citroen");
echo $citroen->intro();
?>

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Example Explained

The Audi, Volvo, and Citroen classes are inherited from the Car class. This means that the Audi, Volvo, and Citroen classes can use the public $name property as well as the public __construct() method from the Car class because of inheritance.

But, intro() is an abstract method that should be defined in all the child classes and they should return a string.

---

---

PHP - More Abstract Class Examples

Let's look at another example where the abstract method has an argument:

Example

<?php
abstract class ParentClass {
  // Abstract method with an argument
  abstract protected function prefixName($name);
}

class ChildClass extends ParentClass {
  public function prefixName($name) {
    if ($name == "John Doe") {
      $prefix = "Mr.";
    } elseif ($name == "Jane Doe") {
      $prefix = "Mrs.";
    } else {
      $prefix = "";
    }
    return "{$prefix} {$name}";
  }
}

$class = new ChildClass;
echo $class->prefixName("John Doe");
echo "<br>";
echo $class->prefixName("Jane Doe");
?>

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Let's look at another example where the abstract method has an argument, and the child class has two optional arguments that are not defined in the parent's abstract method:

Example

<?php
abstract class ParentClass {
  // Abstract method with an argument
  abstract protected function prefixName($name);
}

class ChildClass extends ParentClass {
  // The child class may define optional arguments that are not in the parent's abstract method
  public function prefixName($name, $separator = ".", $greet = "Dear") {
    if ($name == "John Doe") {
      $prefix = "Mr";
    } elseif ($name == "Jane Doe") {
      $prefix = "Mrs";
    } else {
      $prefix = "";
    }
    return "{$greet} {$prefix}{$separator} {$name}";
  }
}

$class = new ChildClass;
echo $class->prefixName("John Doe");
echo "<br>";
echo $class->prefixName("Jane Doe");
?>

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Interfaces allow you to specify what methods a class should implement.

Interfaces make it easy to use a variety of different classes in the same way. When one or more classes use the same interface, it is referred to as "polymorphism".

Interfaces are declared with the interface keyword:

Syntax

<?php
interface InterfaceName {
  public function someMethod1();
  public function someMethod2($name, $color);
  public function someMethod3() : string;
}
?>

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PHP - Interfaces vs. Abstract Classes

Interface are similar to abstract classes. The difference between interfaces and abstract classes are:

• Interfaces cannot have properties, while abstract classes can
• All interface methods must be public, while abstract class methods is public or protected
• All methods in an interface are abstract, so they cannot be implemented in code and the abstract keyword is not necessary
• Classes can implement an interface while inheriting from another class at the same time

---

PHP - Using Interfaces

To implement an interface, a class must use the implements keyword.

A class that implements an interface must implement all of the interface's methods.

Example

<?php
interface Animal {
  public function makeSound();
}

class Cat implements Animal {
  public function makeSound() {
    echo "Meow";
  }
}

$animal = new Cat();
$animal->makeSound();
?>

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From the example above, let's say that we would like to write software which manages a group of animals. There are actions that all of the animals can do, but each animal does it in its own way.

Using interfaces, we can write some code which can work for all of the animals even if each animal behaves differently:

Example

<?php
// Interface definition
interface Animal {
  public function makeSound();
}

// Class definitions
class Cat implements Animal {
  public function makeSound() {
    echo " Meow ";
  }
}

class Dog implements Animal {
  public function makeSound() {
    echo " Bark ";
  }
}

class Mouse implements Animal {
  public function makeSound() {
    echo " Squeak ";
  }
}

// Create a list of animals
$cat = new Cat();
$dog = new Dog();
$mouse = new Mouse();
$animals = array($cat, $dog, $mouse);

// Tell the animals to make a sound
foreach($animals as $animal) {
  $animal->makeSound();
}
?>

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Example Explained

Cat, Dog and Mouse are all classes that implement the Animal interface, which means that all of them are able to make a sound using the makeSound() method. Because of this, we can loop through all of the animals and tell them to make a sound even if we don't know what type of animal each one is.

Since the interface does not tell the classes how to implement the method, each animal can make a sound in its own way.