[SOLVED] Question on php pointers

[thenewperson]

I think these this is a pointer "->"

my question is what does it do i often see it in open sources like

 

$this->connection = mysql_connect(DB_SERVER, DB_USER, DB_PASS) or die(mysql_error());

      mysql_select_db(DB_NAME, $this->connection) or die(mysql_error());

$this -> num_members = -1;

 

so on....

 

i see $this -> used so many times in same source so bit confued

my guess is their storing bunch of values into $this

but i dont understand the advantage of that

[thenewperson]

anyone?

[Alex]

-> is used to access methods and properties of an object in PHP OOP. There are plenty of examples there to help you understand.

 

The reserved variable $this is used to access methods and properties of a class from within one of it's methods.

[mikesta707]

the $this->whatever syntax is PHP's way of accessing class variables/methods within a class. PHP doesn't have a pointer type.

 

in C++ it is similar to the this->whatever syntax, but in PHP you always must use $this->whatever when accessing attributes/methods inside a class, where in C++ you don't have to. It differs where in C++ this refers to the location in memory that the object resides (basically it is a pointer to itself) while in PHP it simply means it is referencing attributes or whatever in the class