PHP prevents interface a contant to be overridden by a class/interface that DIRECTLY inherits it. However, further inheritance allows it. That means that interface constants are not final as mentioned in a previous comment. Is this a bug or a feature?
<?php
interface a
{
const b = 'Interface constant';
}
// Prints: Interface constant
echo a::b;
class b implements a
{
}
// This works!!!
class c extends b
{
const b = 'Class constant';
}
echo c::b;
?>
Object Interfaces
Object interfaces allow you to create code which specifies which methods a class must implement, without having to define how these methods are implemented.
Interfaces are defined in the same way as a class, but with the interface
keyword replacing the class keyword and without any of the methods having
their contents defined.
All methods declared in an interface must be public; this is the nature of an interface.
Note that it is possible to declare a constructor in an interface, which can be useful in some contexts, e.g. for use by factories.
implements
To implement an interface, the implements operator is used.
All methods in the interface must be implemented within a class; failure to do
so will result in a fatal error. Classes may implement more than one interface
if desired by separating each interface with a comma.
Notă:
Prior to PHP 5.3.9, a class could not implement two interfaces that specified a method with the same name, since it would cause ambiguity. More recent versions of PHP allow this as long as the duplicate methods have the same signature.
Notă:
Interfaces can be extended like classes using the extends operator.
Notă:
The class implementing the interface must use a method signatures which is compatible with LSP (Liskov Substitution Principle). Not doing so will result in a fatal error.
Constants
It's possible for interfaces to have constants. Interface constants work exactly like class constants except they cannot be overridden by a class/interface that inherits them.
Exemple
Example #1 Interface example
<?php
// Declare the interface 'iTemplate'
interface iTemplate
{
public function setVariable($name, $var);
public function getHtml($template);
}
// Implement the interface
// This will work
class Template implements iTemplate
{
private $vars = array();
public function setVariable($name, $var)
{
$this->vars[$name] = $var;
}
public function getHtml($template)
{
foreach($this->vars as $name => $value) {
$template = str_replace('{' . $name . '}', $value, $template);
}
return $template;
}
}
// This will not work
// Fatal error: Class BadTemplate contains 1 abstract methods
// and must therefore be declared abstract (iTemplate::getHtml)
class BadTemplate implements iTemplate
{
private $vars = array();
public function setVariable($name, $var)
{
$this->vars[$name] = $var;
}
}
?>
Example #2 Extendable Interfaces
<?php
interface a
{
public function foo();
}
interface b extends a
{
public function baz(Baz $baz);
}
// This will work
class c implements b
{
public function foo()
{
}
public function baz(Baz $baz)
{
}
}
// This will not work and result in a fatal error
class d implements b
{
public function foo()
{
}
public function baz(Foo $foo)
{
}
}
?>
Example #3 Multiple interface inheritance
<?php
interface a
{
public function foo();
}
interface b
{
public function bar();
}
interface c extends a, b
{
public function baz();
}
class d implements c
{
public function foo()
{
}
public function bar()
{
}
public function baz()
{
}
}
?>
Example #4 Interfaces with constants
<?php
interface a
{
const b = 'Interface constant';
}
// Prints: Interface constant
echo a::b;
// This will however not work because it's not allowed to
// override constants.
class b implements a
{
const b = 'Class constant';
}
?>
An interface, together with type-hinting, provides a good way to make sure that a particular object contains particular methods. See instanceof operator and type declarations.
add a note
User Contributed Notes 4 notes
thanhn2001 at gmail dot com ¶
13 years ago
vcnbianchi ¶
2 years ago
Just as all interface methods are public, all interface methods are abstract as well.
williebegoode at att dot net ¶
10 years ago
In their book on Design Patterns, Erich Gamma and his associates (AKA: "The Gang of Four") use the term "interface" and "abstract class" interchangeably. In working with PHP and design patterns, the interface, while clearly a "contract" of what to include in an implementation is also a helpful guide for both re-use and making changes. As long as the implemented changes follow the interface (whether it is an interface or abstract class with abstract methods), large complex programs can be safely updated without having to re-code an entire program or module.
In PHP coding with object interfaces (as a keyword) and "interfaces" in the more general context of use that includes both object interfaces and abstract classes, the purpose of "loose binding" (loosely bound objects) for ease of change and re-use is a helpful way to think about both uses of the term "interface." The focus shifts from "contractual" to "loose binding" for the purpose of cooperative development and re-use.
xedin dot unknown at gmail dot com ¶
3 years ago
This page says that if extending multiple interfaces with the same methods, the signature must be compatible. But this is not all there is to it: the order of `extends` matters. This is a known issue, and while it is disputable whether or not it is a bug, one should be aware of it, and code interfaces with this in mind.
https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=67270
https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=76361
https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=80785
