Classes, Objects, Collections

[doni49]

I've been trying to get into using classes and objects.  I think I understand them fairly well and decided that I'd see if I could come up with a useful generic use class.  As I look at the power of classes and OOP, I can see the need for using lots of arrays of objects (a car dealership might use a class to define the cars in their inventory and they'd want to have an array of "Car" objects for example).

So I decided to test myself.  I created a "Collection" class that includes methods to add, insert and remove items to and from the array.  I did this thinking that it would be a major PITA to have to write the code to do them every time.  Plus it was a great learning experience!

I'd like to get the thoughts of those of you who've been using OOP/PHP for a while now and see if you can make any suggestions as to how this can be improved.  As well as are there any other properties/methods you think I should add?  A usage example follows below.

Anyone care to critique it?  Thanks! 

I've tested it in PHP 5.x (not sure of the sub-version).

[code]
class collection{
var $count=0;
var $items = array();
private $type;
function collection($type){
$this->type = $type;
}
private function buildObject($args, $index, $isIndex){
$newItem = "new " . $this->type ."(";
if($isIndex AND count($args) > 0){
$args = array_slice($args,1);
}
//echo "<br />Index 2:  " . $index;
if(count($args)>1){
$k = "";
$i = 1;
foreach ($args as $a){
$k .= "'" . $a . "'";
if($i < count($args)){
$k .= ", ";
}
$i += 1;
}
$newItem = $newItem . $k;
}elseif(count($args)== 1){
$newItem = $newItem . $args[0];
}
if ($index < 0){$index = $this->count;}
$newItem .= ");";
eval('$this->items[' . $index . '] = ' . $newItem);
}

function removeItem($index){
if ($index < 0){
die ('"Remove" Index must be positive.');
}elseif($index >= $this->count){
die('"Remove" Index must be less than the number of items.');
}else{
if ($index==0){
$this->items = array_slice($this->items, 1);
}elseif (count($this->items) == $index){
$this->items = array_slice($this->items, 0, $index-1);
}else{
$front = array_slice($this->items,0,$index - 1);
$back = array_slice($this->items, $index + 1);
$this->items = array_merge($front, $back);
}
$this->count = $this->count - 1;
}
}
//add an item to the end of the "items" array.
//all arguments are passed to the item's constructor if any.
//all items are optional
function addItem(){
$args = func_get_args();

if(count($args) > 0){
$this->buildObject($args,$this->count, FALSE);
}else{
$this->buildObject(FALSE,$this->count, FALSE);
}
$this->count += 1;
}
//insert an item into the "items" array at the location specified by "index".
//Index MUST be the first argument to the function.  All remaining arguments are
//optional and will be passed to the item's constructor if any.
function insertItem(){
$args = func_get_args();
$index = $args[0];
array_shift($args);
if ($index < 0){
die ('"Insert" Index must be positive.');
}else{
if ($index < $this->count){
if($index > 0){
//if index is greater than zero but less than the
//number of items in the "items" array, then
//seperate items into two arrays and then rebuild
//"items" array.
$front = array_slice($this->items, 0, $index);
$back = array_slice($this->items, $index);
$this->items = array_merge($front,array(""),$back);
}else{
//if index is equal to zero, then add space for the new item.
$this->items = array_merge(array(""),$this->items);
$index = 0;
}
}else{
//if index is equal to the number of items in the "items" array,
//then put this new item at the end of the array.
$index = $this->count;
}
$args = func_get_args();
if(count($args)> 0){
$this->buildObject($args, $index, TRUE);
}else{
$this->buildObject(FALSE, $index, TRUE);
}
$this->count += 1;
}
}
}
[/code]

Usage Example:
[code]
class car{
  var model;
  var make;
  var color;
  function car($make, $model, $color){
    $this->model=$model;
    $this->make=$make;
    $this->color=$color;
  }
}
$cars = new collection("car");
$cars->add("Chevrolet", "Blazer", "Green");
$cars->add("Ford","Mustang","Blue");
[/code]

[doni49]

ANYONE out there have any thoughts for improvements?

[Barand]

Sort on make, model or color? And a way a user can get the collection returned once they have added to it.

$cars->sort('color', 'DESC');

$obj_array = $cars->get_items();
or
$item = $cars->next_item();

[doni49]

I like the idea of next/prev & sort sounds do-able too.  But I'm not sure of the need for "get_items".  It seems to me that $obj_array = $cars->get_items() would do the same as $obj_array = $cars->items.

Thanks for the input, anyone or anything else?

This has been a great learning experience for me as I think I have a decent grasp on classes and objects as a result of this.  Eventually if this gets to be good enough, I figured that I'd submit it for the code library here.  But I think that's a bit down the road.

[doni49]

OK.  I think I've got it.  I added the following methods:
    Next
    Previous
    Current
    IndexOf
    sort
    sortr

I tried to post the code here, but the page just kept timing out.  I'm guessing there's a limit to the message size.  I think it could prove useful for more than just me so I'm gonna submit it for inclusion in the code library.  Does anyone know how to do that?  I thought there'd be some kind of "Submit Code" link in the code library area but I didn't see one.

[9911782]

Hi All
I have started using PHP & MYSQL this year. I have done 2 application with the knowledge I get from the forums and trainings.

I booked myself to the PHP Advanced course, they were training us on using the classes too. Can somebody help me to understand the classes more. I need to use the classes in my applications. Can I get the site where I could get the tutorial to learn more on how to create classes.

Thank you :)
9911782

[doni49]

Please start a new thread for this new topic.