get_class
(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)
Returns the name of the class of an object
Description
Gets the name of the class of the given object.
Parameters
objectThe tested object.
NoteExplicitly passing null as the
objectis no longer allowed as of PHP 7.2.0 and emits anE_WARNING. As of PHP 8.0.0, aTypeErroris emitted when null is used.
Return Values
Returns the name of the class of which object is an instance.
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, an Error is thrown. Prior to PHP 8.0.0, an E_WARNING level error was raised.
Changelog
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 8.3.0 | Calling get_class() without an argument now emits an E_DEPRECATED warning; previously, calling this function inside a class returned the name of that class. |
| 8.0.0 | Calling this function from outside a class, without any arguments, will now throw 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
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
$bar->name();
?>The above example will output:
Its name is foo
My name is fooUsing get_class() in superclass
<?php
abstract class bar {
public function __construct()
{
var_dump(get_class($this));
var_dump(get_class());
}
}
class foo extends bar {
}
new foo;
?>The above example will output:
string(3) "foo"
string(3) "bar"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"