$this-> question.

[vicpal25]

As I progress my ways through PHP, I came across a chapter in a book I am reviewing about the "$this->" attribute handler within a function on PHP. I still quite can't understand its purpose. I do understand what is suppost to do within a function and that is to state that a variable is passed an attribute but is that it? What is the benefit of it? Just to identify? Thanks if anyone can clear that up for me.

[NogDog]

It's used in object-oriented PHP. Not my area of experise (yet), but as I understand it: When used within a method within a class, it means to refer to the following attribute for this instantiation of this class. A simplistic example:

class SimpleClass
{
# member declaration
var $var = 'a default value';

# method declaration
function displayVar() {
echo $this->var; # points to value of var for this instance
}
}
# create an instance of the class called "$test":
$test = new SimpleClass();
# call the method displayVar() for this instance:
echo "<p>" . $test->displayVar() . "</p>\n";
# change the value of var for this instance:
$test->var = "a new, changed value";
# call the method again, seeing the new value:
echo "<p>" . $test->displayVar() . "</p>\n";

[vicpal25]

www got you. I was really trying to find the functionallity between having a varaible within a function without the $this-> and having it and comparing the output difference..interesting..yeah object oriented programming rocks..

[SpectreReturns]

$this is a pointer towards the class scope of the current class. By using it you may manipulate classes from inside them.

[vicpal25]

okay i understand that, but it only refers to attributes of functions within a class right?

[NogDog]

I believe that within a method definition within a class, $this->var refers to the attribute $var defined as part of the class definition, while just $var would be a variable with a scope local only to that specific method. (So $this-> is sort of analagous to "global" within an user-defined function in non-OO PHP, except it means "global within this class definition".)

[vicpal25]

Aw, that makes more sense. I was wondering how the value of the variable change if it was outside the function within the class. Thanks! My goal is to truly program object oriented PHP.