Posting this so the word typeof appears on this page, so that this page will show up when you google 'php typeof'. ...yeah, former Java user.
Typ-Operatoren
instanceof wird dazu verwendet um festzustellen, ob ein
gegebenes Objekt ein Objekt ist, das zu einer bestimmten
Klasse gehört.
Beispiel #1 Die Verwendung von instanceof mit Klassen
<?php
class MyClass
{
}
class NotMyClass
{
}
$a = new MyClass;
var_dump($a instanceof MyClass);
var_dump($a instanceof NotMyClass);
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:
bool(true) bool(false)
instanceof kann auch verwendet werden, um zu bestimmen,
ob ein Variable ein Exemplar einer Klasse ist, die von einer Elternklasse
erbt:
Beispiel #2 Verwendung von instanceof mit ererbten Klassen
<?php
class ParentClass
{
}
class MyClass extends ParentClass
{
}
$a = new MyClass;
var_dump($a instanceof MyClass);
var_dump($a instanceof ParentClass);
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:
bool(true) bool(true)
Um zu prüfen, ob ein Objekt nicht eine Instanz einer
Klasse ist, kann der
logische nicht-Operator
verwendet werden.
Beispiel #3
Verwendung von instanceof, um zu prüfen, ob ein Objekt
nicht eine Instanz einer Klasse ist
<?php
class MyClass
{
}
$a = new MyClass;
var_dump(!($a instanceof stdClass));
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:
bool(true)
Schließlich kann instanceof auch dazu verwendet werden,
um zu bestimmen, ob eine Variable ein instanziiertes Objekt einer Klasse
ist, die ein Interface
implementiert:
Beispiel #4 Verwendung von instanceof mit Interfaces
<?php
interface MyInterface
{
}
class MyClass implements MyInterface
{
}
$a = new MyClass;
var_dump($a instanceof MyClass);
var_dump($a instanceof MyInterface);
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:
bool(true) bool(true)
Obwohl instanceof üblicherweise mit einem
Klassennamensbezeichner verwendet wird, kann es auch mit einem anderen
Objekt oder einer Zeichenkettenvariablen verwendet werden:
Beispiel #5 Verwendung von instanceof mit anderen Variablen
<?php
interface MyInterface
{
}
class MyClass implements MyInterface
{
}
$a = new MyClass;
$b = new MyClass;
$c = 'MyClass';
$d = 'NotMyClass';
var_dump($a instanceof $b); // $b ist ein Exemplar der Klasse MyClass
var_dump($a instanceof $c); // $c ist die Zeichenkette 'MyClass'
var_dump($a instanceof $d); // $d ist die Zeichenkette 'NotMyClass'
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:
bool(true) bool(true) bool(false)
instanceof löst keinen Fehler aus, wenn die getestete Variable kein Objekt
ist; es gibt dann einfach false zurück. Konstanten waren allerdings vor
PHP 7.3.0 nicht erlaubt.
Beispiel #6 Verwendung von instanceof um andere Variablen zu prüfen
<?php
$a = 1;
$b = NULL;
$c = imagecreate(5, 5);
var_dump($a instanceof stdClass); // $a ist eine Ganzzahl
var_dump($b instanceof stdClass); // $b ist NULL
var_dump($c instanceof stdClass); // $c ist ein Ressource
var_dump(FALSE instanceof stdClass);
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt folgende Ausgabe:
bool(false) bool(false) bool(false) PHP Fatal error: instanceof expects an object instance, constant given
Von PHP 7.3.0 an sind Konstanten auf der linken Seite des
instanceof-Operators erlaubt.
Beispiel #7 Verwendung von instanceof um Konstanten zu prüfen
<?php
var_dump(FALSE instanceof stdClass);
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt mit PHP 7.3 folgende Ausgabe:
bool(false)
Seit PHP 8.0.0 kann instanceof mit beliebigen Ausdrücken
verwendet werden. Der Ausdruck muss in Klammern eingeschlossen sein und
einen String erzeugen.
-
Beispiel #8 Verwendung von instanceof mit einem beliebigen Ausdruck
<?php
class ClassA extends \stdClass {}
class ClassB extends \stdClass {}
class ClassC extends ClassB {}
class ClassD extends ClassA {}
function getSomeClass(): string
{
return ClassA::class;
}
var_dump(new ClassA instanceof ('std' . 'Class'));
var_dump(new ClassB instanceof ('Class' . 'B'));
var_dump(new ClassC instanceof ('Class' . 'A'));
var_dump(new ClassD instanceof (getSomeClass()));
?>Das oben gezeigte Beispiel erzeugt mit PHP 8 folgende Ausgabe:
bool(true) bool(true) bool(false) bool(true)
Der instanceof-Operator hat mit der Funktion
is_a() eine funktionale Variante.
add a note
User Contributed Notes 16 notes
jphaas at gmail dot com ¶
17 years ago
knarlin at yahoo dot com dot au ¶
11 years ago
Checking an object is not an instance of a class, example #3 uses extraneous parentheses.
<?php
var_dump(!($a instanceof stdClass));
?>
Because instanceof has higher operator precedence than ! you can just do
<?php
var_dump( ! $a instanceof stdClass );
?>
Sudarshan Wadkar ¶
13 years ago
I don't see any mention of "namespaces" on this page so I thought I would chime in. The instanceof operator takes FQCN as second operator when you pass it as string and not a simple class name. It will not resolve it even if you have a `use MyNamespace\Bar;` at the top level. Here is what I am trying to say:
## testinclude.php ##
<?php
namespace Bar1;
{
class Foo1{ }
}
namespace Bar2;
{
class Foo2{ }
}
?>
## test.php ##
<?php
include('testinclude.php');
use Bar1\Foo1 as Foo;
$foo1 = new Foo(); $className = 'Bar1\Foo1';
var_dump($foo1 instanceof Bar1\Foo1);
var_dump($foo1 instanceof $className);
$className = 'Foo';
var_dump($foo1 instanceof $className);
use Bar2\Foo2;
$foo2 = new Foo2(); $className = 'Bar2\Foo2';
var_dump($foo2 instanceof Bar2\Foo2);
var_dump($foo2 instanceof $className);
$className = 'Foo2';
var_dump($foo2 instanceof $className);
?>
## stdout ##
bool(true)
bool(true)
bool(false)
bool(true)
bool(true)
bool(false)
dava ¶
11 years ago
You are also able to compare 2 objects using instanceOf. In that case, instanceOf will compare the types of both objects. That is sometimes very useful:
<?php
class A { }
class B { }
$a = new A;
$b = new B;
$a2 = new A;
echo $a instanceOf $a; // true
echo $a instanceOf $b; // false
echo $a instanceOf $a2; // true
?>
wapinet at mail dot ru ¶
3 years ago
if you have only class names (not objects) you can use that snippet: https://3v4l.org/mUKUC
<?php
interface i{}
class a implements i{}
var_dump(a::class instanceof i); // false
var_dump(in_array(i::class, class_implements(a::class), true)); // true
ASchmidt at Anamera dot net ¶
4 years ago
Using an undefined variable will result in an error.
If variable is in doubt, one must prequalify:
if ( isset( $MyInstance ) and $MyInstance instanceof MyClass ) ...
wadih at creationmw dot com ¶
7 years ago
Doing $a instanceof stdClass from inside a namespace will not work on its own.
You will have to do:
<?php
if ($a instanceof \stdClass)
?>
jtaal at eljakim dot nl ¶
16 years ago
You can use "self" to reference to the current class:
<?php
class myclass {
function mymethod($otherObject) {
if ($otherObject instanceof self) {
$otherObject->mymethod(null);
}
return 'works!';
}
}
$a = new myclass();
print $a->mymethod($a);
?>
fbableus ¶
13 years ago
If you want to test if a classname is an instance of a class, the instanceof operator won't work.
<?php
$classname = 'MyClass';
if( $classname instanceof MyParentClass) echo 'Child of it';
else echo 'Not child of it';
?>
Will always output
Not child of it
You must use a ReflectionClass :
<?php
$classname = 'MyClass';
$myReflection = new ReflectionClass($classname);
if( $myReflection->isSubclassOf('MyParentClass')) echo 'Child of it';
else echo 'Not child of it';
?>
Will output the good result.
If you're testing an interface, use implementsInterface() instead of isSublassOf().
kevin dot benton at beatport dot com ¶
16 years ago
Example #5 could also be extended to include...
var_dump($a instanceof MyInterface);
The new result would be
bool(true)
So - instanceof is smart enough to know that a class that implements an interface is an instance of the interface, not just the class. I didn't see that point made clearly enough in the explanation at the top.
wbcarts at juno dot com ¶
12 years ago
SIMPLE, CLEAN, CLEAR use of the instanceof OPERATOR
First, define a couple of simple PHP Objects to work on -- I'll introduce Circle and Point. Here's the class definitions for both:
<?php
class Circle
{
protected $radius = 1.0;
/*
* This function is the reason we are going to use the
* instanceof operator below.
*/
public function setRadius($r)
{
$this->radius = $r;
}
public function __toString()
{
return 'Circle [radius=' . $this->radius . ']';
}
}
class Point
{
protected $x = 0;
protected $y = 0;
/*
* This function is the reason we are going to use the
* instanceof operator below.
*/
public function setLocation($x, $y)
{
$this->x = $x;
$this->y = $y;
}
public function __toString()
{
return 'Point [x=' . $this->x . ', y=' . $this->y . ']';
}
}
?>
Now instantiate a few instances of these types. Note, I will put them in an array (collection) so we can iterate through them quickly.
<?php
$myCollection = array(123, 'abc', 'Hello World!',
new Circle(), new Circle(), new Circle(),
new Point(), new Point(), new Point());
$i = 0;
foreach($myCollection AS $item)
{
/*
* The setRadius() function is written in the Circle class
* definition above, so make sure $item is an instance of
* type Circle BEFORE calling it AND to avoid PHP PMS!
*/
if($item instanceof Circle)
{
$item->setRadius($i);
}
/*
* The setLocation() function is written in the Point class
* definition above, so make sure $item is an instance of
* type Point BEFORE calling it AND to stay out of the ER!
*/
if($item instanceof Point)
{
$item->setLocation($i, $i);
}
echo '$myCollection[' . $i++ . '] = ' . $item . '<br>';
}
?>
$myCollection[0] = 123
$myCollection[1] = abc
$myCollection[2] = Hello World!
$myCollection[3] = Circle [radius=3]
$myCollection[4] = Circle [radius=4]
$myCollection[5] = Circle [radius=5]
$myCollection[6] = Point [x=6, y=6]
$myCollection[7] = Point [x=7, y=7]
$myCollection[8] = Point [x=8, y=8]
Hayley Watson ¶
7 years ago
If you want to use "$foo instanceof $bar" to determine if two objects are the same class, remember that "instanceof" will also evaluate to true if $foo is an instance of a _subclass_ of $bar's class.
If you really want to see if they are the _same_ class, then they both have to be instances of each other's class. That is:
<?php
($foo instanceof $bar && $bar instanceof $foo)
?>
Consider it an alternative to "get_class($bar) == get_class($foo)" that avoids the detour through to string lookups and comparisons.
julien plee using g mail dot com ¶
17 years ago
Response to vinyanov at poczta dot onet dot pl:
You mentionned "the instanceof operator will not accept a string as its first operand". However, this behavior is absolutely right and therefore, you're misleading the meaning of an instance.
<?php 'ClassA' instanceof 'ClassB'; ?> means "the class named ClassA is an instance of the class named ClassB". This is a nonsense sentence because when you instanciate a class, you ALWAYS obtain an object. Consequently, you only can ask if an object is an instance of a class.
I believe asking if "a ClassA belongs to a ClassB" (or "a ClassA is a class of (type) ClassB") or even "a ClassA is (also) a ClassB" is more appropriate. But the first is not implemented and the second only works with objects, just like the instanceof operator.
Plus, I just have tested your code and it does absolutely NOT do the same as instanceof (extended to classes)! I can't advise anyone to reuse it. The use of <?php is_instance_of ($instanceOfA, 'ClassB'); ?> raises a warning "include_once(Object id #1.php) …" when using __autoload (trying to look for $instanceOfA as if it was a class name).
Finally, here is a fast (to me) sample function code to verify if an object or class:
<?php
function kind_of (&$object_or_class, $class)
{
return is_object ($object_or_class) ?
$object_or_class instanceof $class
: (is_subclass_of ($object_or_class $class)
|| strtolower ($object_or_class) == strtolower ($class));
}
?>
ejohnson82 at gmail dot com ¶
16 years ago
The PHP parser generates a parse error on either of the two lines that are commented out here.
Apparently the 'instanceof' construct will take a string variable in the second spot, but it will NOT take a string... lame
class Bar {}
$b = new Bar;
$b_class = "Bar";
var_export($b instanceof Bar); // this is ok
var_export($b instanceof $b_class); // this is ok
//var_export($f instanceof "Bar"); // this is syntactically illegal
//var_export($f instanceof 'Bar'); // this is syntactically illegal
jeanyves dot terrien at orange-ftgroup dot com ¶
17 years ago
Cross version function even if you are working in php4
(instanceof is an undefined operator for php4)
function isMemberOf($classename) {
$ver = floor(phpversion());
if($ver > 4) {
$instanceof = create_function ('$obj,$classname','return $obj instanceof $classname;');
return $instanceof($this,$classname);
} else {
// Php4 uses lowercase for classname.
return is_a($this, strtolower($classname));
}
} // end function isMemberOf
soletan at toxa dot de ¶
17 years ago
Please note: != is a separate operator with separate semantics. Thinking about language grammar it's kind of ridicilous to negate an operator. Of course, it's possible to negate the result of a function (like is_a()), since it isn't negating the function itself or its semantics.
instanceof is a binary operator, and so used in binary terms like this
terma instanceof termb
while ! (negation) is a unary operator and so may be applied to a single term like this
!term
And a term never consists of an operator, only! There is no such construct in any language (please correct me!). However, instanceof doesn't finally support nested terms in every operand position ("terma" or "termb" above) as negation does:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!term == term
So back again, did you ever write
a !!!!!!!!!!!!= b
to test equivalence?
