Calling method on a PHP object which contains an array

Question

I have a PHP class called "food". The internal data structure of the class is an Array.

class Food
{


public $dataArray;// = array();
public $sidesArray;// = array();

public function __construct()
{
    $this->dataArray = array();
    $this->sidesArray = array();

    echo"Created new Food instance<br/>";

}

public function setName($food_Name)
{
    $this->dataArray["food_name"] = $food_Name;
}

public function getName()
{
    return $this->dataArray["food_name"];
}

When I call this method of the class :

$food_name = $foodItem->getName();

I get this exception:

Fatal error: Call to a member function getName() on a non-object......

However when I call this function on the object:

print_r($foodItem);

I get this output:

Array ( [0] => Food Object ( [dataArray] => Array ( [food_name] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => Tomato Soup ) [food_Cals] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => 200 ) [food_Desc] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => great ) [food_price] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => 2.00 ) [num_sides] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => 1 ) ) [sidesArray] => Array ( [0] => Side Object ( [dataArray:private] => Array ( [side_name] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => mashed potatoes ) [side_Cals] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( ) [side_Category] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => Sides ) [side_desc] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( ) [side_price] => SimpleXMLElement Object ( [0] => 2.00 ) ) ) ) ) )

My question is why is that method getName() not working? How do I get the "name" out of the foodItem object.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Anyone notice that $dataArray is public? Was that a typo because you have access to array of the instantiated object if its public without needing to call the function getName(). — Yzmir Ramirez
– Yzmir Ramirez, Commented Aug 9, 2011 at 6:02
Its public for now, before deployment this will be changed. Thanks for noticing :) — banditKing
– banditKing, Commented Aug 9, 2011 at 13:18

Phil · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-09 04:52:11Z

2

Looks like $foodItem is an array of Food objects.

You will need to loop over the array or reference specific items by index to use the class methods, eg

// loop
foreach ($foodItem as $food) {
    echo $food->getName();
}

// direct access
echo $foodItem[0]->getName();

Be careful as you will trigger an E_NOTICE "undefined index" error if attempting to call Food::getName() before a name has been set via Food::setName().

I'd be inclined to set the name in the constructor

public function __construct($name)
{
    $this->dataArray = array('food_name' => $name);

    // any other constructor tasks
}

edited Aug 9, 2011 at 4:52

answered Aug 9, 2011 at 4:45

Phil

166k25 gold badges265 silver badges269 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

Comments

Andreas · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-09 04:43:26Z

2

You have to try it that way

$foodItem[0]->getName();

because your object is in $foodItem[0]. Then it will be working. But also a remark:

if you make a set/get method you should make $dataArray private. If not you can access it directly. That's not a proper oop.

answered Aug 9, 2011 at 4:43

Andreas

2,6682 gold badges22 silver badges33 bronze badges

2 Comments

Phil Over a year ago

@zerkms I can only assume Andreas is referring to encapsulation

Andreas Over a year ago

Thanks Phil, that's exactly what I meant.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Calling method on a PHP object which contains an array

2 Answers 2

Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

Comments

2 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related