__call() magic method

Hi all,

I'm emailling to ask why __call isn't called when you call a private
method from outside of function...

In my opinion, this error should exist, but when you haven't an __call
function, because outside the scope of class it only should see public
methods, then if it don't exist it should call the __call
Fatal error: Call to private method user::print_user() from context
'' in /home/diogo/Documents/devspace/mangas.dev/index.php on line 47

Of course my opinion only counts what it counts, not too much I believe :)

Anyway, it's the correct beaviour or its bugie?
Make my opinion some sense?
Is there anyway of implement or own magic method that gets called
before any method in a given class?

--
Thanks by your attention,

Diogo Neves
Web Developer @ SAPO.pt by PrimeIT.pt

Hello Diogo,

Sunday, August 31, 2008, 12:50:15 AM, you wrote:

Exactly...

Is that normal workings or more like a bugie one?

Cristian Rodríguez wrote:

Diogo Neves escribió:

Hi all,

I'm emailling to ask why __call isn't called when you call a private
method from outside of function...

Please provide example code ;-)

He means this:

class foo {
private function bar() { }
function __call($f,$a) {
echo "called $f";
}
}
$a = new foo;
$a->bar();

In the above code you clearly try to call a private method.

As Mike Lively before point to me __get, and after i tried __set,
works diferently as u can see:

<?php
class foo {
private $a = 'a';

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

public function __get( $name ) {
return $this->$name;
}
}
$obj = new foo;
$obj->a = 'b';
echo( $obj->a );
?>

My problem was that i only had work with __get and expected same
behavior for __call :)

There is

nothing more to say. In the following case it coul dbe a bit different:

<?php
class foo {
private function test() {
echo METHOD . "\n";
}
}
class bar extends foo {
function __call($name, $args) {
echo METHOD . "($name)\n";
}
}
$obj = new foo;
$obj->test();
?>

This is different because we call into an object of type bar. Now in scope
bar we do not know anything about foo::test.

<?php
class foo {
private $a = 'a';
public function test() {
echo( $this->a );
}
}
class bar extends foo {
private $a = 'b';
public function test2() {
echo( $this->a );
}
}
$obj = new bar;
$obj->test();
$obj->test2();
?>

Now i understood what u mean by 'bar' scope...
:S I'm in need of a good scope article, some one know a good one?

That said we should probably

allow __call there rather than the error. And it is easy enought o fix as
we know that in bar we have only inherited foo::test.

If we move __call into foo it is the other way around then again. This is
because we will call into the object and start method resolution at scope
bar. As that does not know anything about test, we will use the inherited
method call to dynamically handle the call. However, that means we are in
scope foo where we do know about test and hence should issue the error.
But we will have a harder time issuing that error. As inside the engine we
actually never go down to scope foo and instead simply use the inherited
__call.

So yes, this can be seen as a bug and part of it can easily be fixed. But
I do not see an easy way to fix it 100% according to inheritance rules.

Best regards,
Marcus

--
Thanks for your attention,

Diogo Neves
Web Developer @ SAPO.pt by PrimeIT.pt