[php] instantiate a class from a variable in PHP?

I know this question sounds rather vague so I will make it more clear with an example:

$var = 'bar';
$bar = new {$var}Class('var for __construct()'); //$bar = new barClass('var for __construct()');

This is what I want to do. How would you do it? I could off course use eval() like this:

$var = 'bar';
eval('$bar = new '.$var.'Class(\'var for __construct()\');');

But I'd rather stay away from eval(). Is there any way to do this without eval()?

This question is related to php class variables eval

The answer is


How to pass dynamic constructor parameters too

If you want to pass dynamic constructor parameters to the class, you can use this code:

$reflectionClass = new ReflectionClass($className);

$module = $reflectionClass->newInstanceArgs($arrayOfConstructorParameters);

More information on dynamic classes and parameters

PHP >= 5.6

As of PHP 5.6 you can simplify this even more by using Argument Unpacking:

// The "..." is part of the language and indicates an argument array to unpack.
$module = new $className(...$arrayOfConstructorParameters);

Thanks to DisgruntledGoat for pointing that out.


If You Use Namespaces

In my own findings, I think it's good to mention that you (as far as I can tell) must declare the full namespace path of a class.

MyClass.php

namespace com\company\lib;
class MyClass {
}

index.php

namespace com\company\lib;

//Works fine
$i = new MyClass();

$cname = 'MyClass';

//Errors
//$i = new $cname;

//Works fine
$cname = "com\\company\\lib\\".$cname;
$i = new $cname;

I would recommend the call_user_func() or call_user_func_arrayphp methods. You can check them out here (call_user_func_array , call_user_func).

example

class Foo {
static public function test() {
    print "Hello world!\n";
}
}

 call_user_func('Foo::test');//FOO is the class, test is the method both separated by ::
 //or
 call_user_func(array('Foo', 'test'));//alternatively you can pass the class and method as an array

If you have arguments you are passing to the method , then use the call_user_func_array() function.

example.

class foo {
function bar($arg, $arg2) {
    echo __METHOD__, " got $arg and $arg2\n";
}
}

// Call the $foo->bar() method with 2 arguments
call_user_func_array(array("foo", "bar"), array("three", "four"));
//or
//FOO is the class, bar is the method both separated by ::
call_user_func_array("foo::bar"), array("three", "four"));

class Test {
    public function yo() {
        return 'yoes';
    }
}

$var = 'Test';

$obj = new $var();
echo $obj->yo(); //yoes

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