How do I implement a callback in PHP?
PhpPhp Problem Overview
How are callbacks written in PHP?
Php Solutions
Solution 1 - Php
The manual uses the terms "callback" and "callable" interchangeably, however, "callback" traditionally refers to a string or array value that acts like a function pointer, referencing a function or class method for future invocation. This has allowed some elements of functional programming since PHP 4. The flavors are:
$cb1 = 'someGlobalFunction';
$cb2 = ['ClassName', 'someStaticMethod'];
$cb3 = [$object, 'somePublicMethod'];
// this syntax is callable since PHP 5.2.3 but a string containing it
// cannot be called directly
$cb2 = 'ClassName::someStaticMethod';
$cb2(); // fatal error
// legacy syntax for PHP 4
$cb3 = array(&$object, 'somePublicMethod');
This is a safe way to use callable values in general:
if (is_callable($cb2)) {
// Autoloading will be invoked to load the class "ClassName" if it's not
// yet defined, and PHP will check that the class has a method
// "someStaticMethod". Note that is_callable() will NOT verify that the
// method can safely be executed in static context.
$returnValue = call_user_func($cb2, $arg1, $arg2);
}
Modern PHP versions allow the first three formats above to be invoked directly as $cb()
. call_user_func
and call_user_func_array
support all the above.
See: http://php.net/manual/en/language.types.callable.php
Notes/Caveats:
- If the function/class is namespaced, the string must contain the fully-qualified name. E.g.
['Vendor\Package\Foo', 'method']
call_user_func
does not support passing non-objects by reference, so you can either usecall_user_func_array
or, in later PHP versions, save the callback to a var and use the direct syntax:$cb()
;- Objects with an
__invoke()
method (including anonymous functions) fall under the category "callable" and can be used the same way, but I personally don't associate these with the legacy "callback" term. - The legacy
create_function()
creates a global function and returns its name. It's a wrapper foreval()
and anonymous functions should be used instead.
Solution 2 - Php
With PHP 5.3, you can now do this:
function doIt($callback) { $callback(); }
doIt(function() {
// this will be done
});
Finally a nice way to do it. A great addition to PHP, because callbacks are awesome.
Solution 3 - Php
Implementation of a callback is done like so
// This function uses a callback function.
function doIt($callback)
{
$data = "this is my data";
$callback($data);
}
// This is a sample callback function for doIt().
function myCallback($data)
{
print 'Data is: ' . $data . "\n";
}
// Call doIt() and pass our sample callback function's name.
doIt('myCallback');
Displays: Data is: this is my data
Solution 4 - Php
One nifty trick that I've recently found is to use PHP's create_function()
to create an anonymous/lambda function for one-shot use. It's useful for PHP functions like array_map()
, preg_replace_callback()
, or usort()
that use callbacks for custom processing. It looks pretty much like it does an eval()
under the covers, but it's still a nice functional-style way to use PHP.
Solution 5 - Php
well... with 5.3 on the horizon, all will be better, because with 5.3, we'll get closures and with them anonymous functions
Solution 6 - Php
You will want to verify whatever your calling is valid. For example, in the case of a specific function, you will want to check and see if the function exists:
function doIt($callback) {
if(function_exists($callback)) {
$callback();
} else {
// some error handling
}
}
Solution 7 - Php
create_function
did not work for me inside a class. I had to use call_user_func
.
<?php
class Dispatcher {
//Added explicit callback declaration.
var $callback;
public function Dispatcher( $callback ){
$this->callback = $callback;
}
public function asynchronous_method(){
//do asynch stuff, like fwrite...then, fire callback.
if ( isset( $this->callback ) ) {
if (function_exists( $this->callback )) call_user_func( $this->callback, "File done!" );
}
}
}
Then, to use:
<?php
include_once('Dispatcher.php');
$d = new Dispatcher( 'do_callback' );
$d->asynchronous_method();
function do_callback( $data ){
print 'Data is: ' . $data . "\n";
}
?>
[Edit] Added a missing parenthesis. Also, added the callback declaration, I prefer it that way.
Solution 8 - Php
I cringe every time I use create_function()
in php.
Parameters are a coma separated string, the whole function body in a string... Argh... I think they could not have made it uglier even if they tried.
Unfortunately, it is the only choice when creating a named function is not worth the trouble.
Solution 9 - Php
For those who don't care about breaking compatibility with PHP < 5.4
, I'd suggest using type hinting to make a cleaner implementation.
function call_with_hello_and_append_world( callable $callback )
{
// No need to check $closure because of the type hint
return $callback( "hello" )."world";
}
function append_space( $string )
{
return $string." ";
}
$output1 = call_with_hello_and_append_world( function( $string ) { return $string." "; } );
var_dump( $output1 ); // string(11) "hello world"
$output2 = call_with_hello_and_append_world( "append_space" );
var_dump( $output2 ); // string(11) "hello world"
$old_lambda = create_function( '$string', 'return $string." ";' );
$output3 = call_with_hello_and_append_world( $old_lambda );
var_dump( $output3 ); // string(11) "hello world"