PHP Classes and Objects Dynamic Binding
Example
Dynamic binding, also referred as method overriding is an example of run time polymorphism that occurs when multiple classes contain different implementations of the same method, but the object that the method will be called on is unknown until run time.
This is useful if a certain condition dictates which class will be used to perform an action, where the action is named the same in both classes.
interface Animal {
public function makeNoise();
}
class Cat implements Animal {
public function makeNoise
{
$this->meow();
}
...
}
class Dog implements Animal {
public function makeNoise {
$this->bark();
}
...
}
class Person {
const CAT = 'cat';
const DOG = 'dog';
private $petPreference;
private $pet;
public function isCatLover(): bool {
return $this->petPreference == self::CAT;
}
public function isDogLover(): bool {
return $this->petPreference == self::DOG;
}
public function setPet(Animal $pet) {
$this->pet = $pet;
}
public function getPet(): Animal {
return $this->pet;
}
}
if($person->isCatLover()) {
$person->setPet(new Cat());
} else if($person->isDogLover()) {
$person->setPet(new Dog());
}
$person->getPet()->makeNoise();
In the above example, the Animal class (Dog|Cat) which will makeNoise is unknown until run time depending on the property within the User class.
