(PHP 5 >= 5.1.0, PHP 7)
property_exists — Checks if the object or class has a property
This function checks if the given property exists in
the specified class.
Note:
As opposed with isset(), property_exists() returns
TRUEeven if the property has the valueNULL.
classThe class name or an object of the class to test for
propertyThe name of the property
Returns TRUE if the property exists, FALSE if it doesn't exist or
NULL in case of an error.
Note:
Using this function will use any registered autoloaders if the class is not already known.
Note:
The property_exists() function cannot detect properties that are magically accessible using the __get magic method.
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 5.3.0 | This function checks the existence of a property independent of accessibility. |
Example #1 A property_exists() example
<?php
class myClass {
public $mine;
private $xpto;
static protected $test;
static function test() {
var_dump(property_exists('myClass', 'xpto')); //true
}
}
var_dump(property_exists('myClass', 'mine')); //true
var_dump(property_exists(new myClass, 'mine')); //true
var_dump(property_exists('myClass', 'xpto')); //true, as of PHP 5.3.0
var_dump(property_exists('myClass', 'bar')); //false
var_dump(property_exists('myClass', 'test')); //true, as of PHP 5.3.0
myClass::test();
?>
If you are in a namespaced file, and you want to pass the class name as a string, you will have to include the full namespace for the class name - even from inside the same namespace:
<?
namespace MyNS;
class A {
public $foo;
}
property_exists("A", "foo"); // false
property_exists("\\MyNS\\A", "foo"); // true
?>
The function behaves differently depending on whether the property has been present in the class declaration, or has been added dynamically, if the variable has been unset()
<?php
class TestClass {
public $declared = null;
}
$testObject = new TestClass;
var_dump(property_exists("TestClass", "dynamic")); // boolean false, as expected
var_dump(property_exists($testObject, "dynamic")); // boolean false, same as above
$testObject->dynamic = null;
var_dump(property_exists($testObject, "dynamic")); // boolean true
unset($testObject->dynamic);
var_dump(property_exists($testObject, "dynamic")); // boolean false, again.
var_dump(property_exists($testObject, "declared")); // boolean true, as espected
unset($testObject->declared);
var_dump(property_exists($testObject, "declared")); // boolean true, even if has been unset()
$a = array('a','b'=>'c');
print_r((object) $a);
var_dump( property_exists((object) $a,'0'));
var_dump( property_exists((object) $a,'b'));
OUTPUT:
stdClass Object
(
[0] => a
[b] => c
)
bool(false)
bool(true)
<?php
class Student {
protected $_name;
protected $_email;
public function __call($name, $arguments) {
$action = substr($name, 0, 3);
switch ($action) {
case 'get':
$property = '_' . strtolower(substr($name, 3));
if(property_exists($this,$property)){
return $this->{$property};
}else{
echo "Undefined Property";
}
break;
case 'set':
$property = '_' . strtolower(substr($name, 3));
if(property_exists($this,$property)){
$this->{$property} = $arguments[0];
}else{
echo "Undefined Property";
}
break;
default :
return FALSE;
}
}
}
$s = new Student();
$s->setName('Nanhe Kumar');
$s->setEmail('nanhe.kumar@gmail.com');
echo $s->getName(); //Nanhe Kumar
echo $s->getEmail(); // nanhe.kumar@gmail.com
$s->setAge(10); //Undefined Property
?>
As of PHP 5.3.0, calling property_exists from a parent class sees private properties in sub-classes.
<?php
class P {
public function test_prop($prop) { return property_exists($this, $prop); }
}
class Child extends P {
private $prop1;
}
$child = new Child();
var_dump($child->test_prop('prop1')); //true, as of PHP 5.3.0
When you are testing for a property that has been added dynamically, you will need to provide a reference to the instance rather than the class name for the first parameter.
For example, for this code snippet:
class myClass {
public $var;
}
$obj = new myClass;
$obj->new_var = "new";
var_dump(property_exists('myClass', 'new_var') );
var_dump(property_exists($obj, 'new_var') );
Returns:
boolean false
boolean true
