The PropertyAccess Component

Version: 2.2
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The PropertyAccess Component

The PropertyAccess component provides function to read and write from/to an object or array using a simple string notation.

2.2

The PropertyAccess component is new to Symfony 2.2. Previously, the PropertyPath class was located in the Form component.

Installation

You can install the component in two different ways:

Usage

The entry point of this component is the PropertyAccess::getPropertyAccessor factory. This factory will create a new instance of the PropertyAccessor class with the default configuration:

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use Symfony\Component\PropertyAccess\PropertyAccess;

$accessor = PropertyAccess::getPropertyAccessor();

Reading from Arrays

You can read an array with the PropertyAccessor::getValue method. This is done using the index notation that is used in PHP:

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// ...
$person = array(
    'first_name' => 'Wouter',
);

echo $accessor->getValue($person, '[first_name]'); // 'Wouter'
echo $accessor->getValue($person, '[age]'); // null

As you can see, the method will return null if the index does not exists.

You can also use multi dimensional arrays:

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// ...
$persons = array(
    array(
        'first_name' => 'Wouter',
    ),
    array(
        'first_name' => 'Ryan',
    )
);

echo $accessor->getValue($persons, '[0][first_name]'); // 'Wouter'
echo $accessor->getValue($persons, '[1][first_name]'); // 'Ryan'

Reading from Objects

The getValue method is a very robust method, and you can see all of its features when working with objects.

Accessing public Properties

To read from properties, use the "dot" notation:

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// ...
$person = new Person();
$person->firstName = 'Wouter';

echo $accessor->getValue($person, 'firstName'); // 'Wouter'

$child = new Person();
$child->firstName = 'Bar';
$person->children = array($child);

echo $accessor->getValue($person, 'children[0].firstName'); // 'Bar'

Caution

Accessing public properties is the last option used by PropertyAccessor. It tries to access the value using the below methods first before using the property directly. For example, if you have a public property that has a getter method, it will use the getter.

Using Getters

The getValue method also supports reading using getters. The method will be created using common naming conventions for getters. It camelizes the property name (first_name becomes FirstName) and prefixes it with get. So the actual method becomes getFirstName:

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// ...
class Person
{
    private $firstName = 'Wouter';

    public function getFirstName()
    {
        return $this->firstName;
    }
}

$person = new Person();

echo $accessor->getValue($person, 'first_name'); // 'Wouter'

Using Hassers/Issers

And it doesn't even stop there. If there is no getter found, the accessor will look for an isser or hasser. This method is created using the same way as getters, this means that you can do something like this:

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// ...
class Person
{
    private $author = true;
    private $children = array();

    public function isAuthor()
    {
        return $this->author;
    }

    public function hasChildren()
    {
        return 0 !== count($this->children);
    }
}

$person = new Person();

if ($accessor->getValue($person, 'author')) {
    echo 'He is an author';
}
if ($accessor->getValue($person, 'children')) {
    echo 'He has children';
}

This will produce: He is an author

Magic Methods

At last, getValue can use the magic __get method too:

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// ...
class Person
{
    private $children = array(
        'Wouter' => array(...),
    );

    public function __get($id)
    {
        return $this->children[$id];
    }
}

$person = new Person();

echo $accessor->getValue($person, 'Wouter'); // array(...)

Writing to Arrays

The PropertyAccessor class can do more than just read an array, it can also write to an array. This can be achieved using the PropertyAccessor::setValue method:

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// ...
$person = array();

$accessor->setValue($person, '[first_name]', 'Wouter');

echo $accessor->getValue($person, '[first_name]'); // 'Wouter'
// or
// echo $person['first_name']; // 'Wouter'

Writing to Objects

The setValue method has the same features as the getValue method. You can use setters, the magic __set method or properties to set values:

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// ...
class Person
{
    public $firstName;
    private $lastName;
    private $children = array();

    public function setLastName($name)
    {
        $this->lastName = $name;
    }

    public function __set($property, $value)
    {
        $this->$property = $value;
    }

    // ...
}

$person = new Person();

$accessor->setValue($person, 'firstName', 'Wouter');
$accessor->setValue($person, 'lastName', 'de Jong');
$accessor->setValue($person, 'children', array(new Person()));

echo $person->firstName; // 'Wouter'
echo $person->getLastName(); // 'de Jong'
echo $person->children; // array(Person());

Mixing Objects and Arrays

You can also mix objects and arrays:

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// ...
class Person
{
    public $firstName;
    private $children = array();

    public function setChildren($children)
    {
        return $this->children;
    }

    public function getChildren()
    {
        return $this->children;
    }
}

$person = new Person();

$accessor->setValue($person, 'children[0]', new Person);
// equal to $person->getChildren()[0] = new Person()

$accessor->setValue($person, 'children[0].firstName', 'Wouter');
// equal to $person->getChildren()[0]->firstName = 'Wouter'

echo 'Hello '.$accessor->getValue($person, 'children[0].firstName'); // 'Wouter'
// equal to $person->getChildren()[0]->firstName
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