You can do some kind of overloading functions in PHP using "function_exists".
Let's suppose you want a script to call plugins that are php files and you want the plugins to "override" behaviours that if not overriden are used by default.
You might for example write a "mySQL table viewer" which displays a table and it "opens a table", "dumps the header", "dumps row-by-row" and then "closes the table".
Let's suppose you want a plugin for "Stocks" which prints negative stocks in red, so you want to override the "dumping row-by-row" to do that behaviour. Instead you do not want to have all the "default behaviour" repeated in the plugin.
You may then do the following:
1) Define a default plugin (ex: "default.php"
2) Write all your functions in default.php to open, dump and close, but add them a suffix:
open_table_default()
dump_header_default()
dump_row_default()
close_table_default()
3) Call your functions with a wrapper: Insetad of this:
open_table() or open_table_default() write this:
plugincall("open_table");
4) Then write a function called plugincall which uses function_exists() to see if you call one or the other function:
function plugincall($desired_function_name)
{
if( function_exists( $desired_function_name))
{
//Call the plugin
//Note the $ before the name
$desired_function_name()
}
else
{
$desired_function_name = $desired_function_name . "_default";
if( function_exists($desired_function_name))
{
//Call the default
//Note the $ before the name
$desired_function_name()
}
else
{
// Nor the plugin nor the default were defined
}
}
So, now, if the require_once(plugin.php) contains a function called "open_table()", it will be used. Instaed, "open_table_default()" will be used.
It's not like overloading functions, but it is very useful to write scripts ampliable by other programmers: If they write a function, it is used, if not, the default is used.
See ya!
Xavier Montero.
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