In-depth analysis of get and set methods in php

In PHP, the get and set methods are two of the more commonly used methods. They are used to obtain and set the attribute values ​​​​of a class respectively. So what's the difference? Let’s analyze it below.

First of all, the get method is a method used to obtain the attribute value of a class, often called a "reading method". The method is generally prefixed with "get", followed by the name of the property. For example, if we have an "age" property, the corresponding get method is "getAge". Here is an example:

class Person {
    private $age;
    
    public function getAge() {
        return $this->age;
    }
}

In the above example, the getAge method returns the value of the private property $age.

In contrast, the set method is used to set the attribute value of the class, often called the "write method". The method is usually prefixed with "set", followed by the name of the property, and accepts a parameter that is used to set the value of the property. For example, if we have a "name" property, the corresponding set method is "setName". Here is an example:

class Person {
    private $name;
    
    public function setName($name) {
        $this->name = $name;
    }
}

In the above example, the setName method sets the value of the parameter $name to the value of the private property $name.

So, what is the difference between get and set methods? In fact, their difference lies in their functions. The get method is used to obtain the value of the attribute, while the set method is used to set the value of the attribute.

In addition, there are some details that need attention. Normally, get and set methods should be public so that they can be called from outside the class. Also, pay attention to the visibility of properties (private, protected, or public) and their impact on get and set methods. For example, if a property is private, it can only be accessed through the get and set methods, not directly.

To sum up, the get and set methods are very important in PHP. They are used to get and set the value of the attribute respectively. When writing a program, you should decide whether to use these methods based on the actual needs of the project. If we need to read or write the attribute value of the class, we can use the corresponding get and set methods to achieve this.

The above is the detailed content of In-depth analysis of get and set methods in php. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!