Anonymous classes

Anonymous classes are useful when simple, one-off objects need to be created.


<?php

// Using an explicit class
class Logger
{
    public function log($msg)
    {
        echo $msg;
    }
}

$util->setLogger(new Logger());

// Using an anonymous class
$util->setLogger(new class {
    public function log($msg)
    {
        echo $msg;
    }
});

They can pass arguments through to their constructors, extend other classes, implement interfaces, and use traits just like a normal class can:


<?php

class SomeClass {}
interface SomeInterface {}
trait SomeTrait {}

var_dump(new class(10) extends SomeClass implements SomeInterface {
    private $num;

    public function __construct($num)
    {
        $this->num = $num;
    }

    use SomeTrait;
});

The above example will output:

object(class@anonymous)#1 (1) {
  ["Command line code0x104c5b612":"class@anonymous":private]=>
  int(10)
}

Nesting an anonymous class within another class does not give it access to any private or protected methods or properties of that outer class. In order to use the outer class' protected properties or methods, the anonymous class can extend the outer class. To use the private properties of the outer class in the anonymous class, they must be passed through its constructor:


<?php

class Outer
{
    private $prop = 1;
    protected $prop2 = 2;

    protected function func1()
    {
        return 3;
    }

    public function func2()
    {
        return new class($this->prop) extends Outer {
            private $prop3;

            public function __construct($prop)
            {
                $this->prop3 = $prop;
            }

            public function func3()
            {
                return $this->prop2 + $this->prop3 + $this->func1();
            }
        };
    }
}

echo (new Outer)->func2()->func3();

The above example will output:

All objects created by the same anonymous class declaration are instances of that very class.


<?php
function anonymous_class()
{
    return new class {};
}

if (get_class(anonymous_class()) === get_class(anonymous_class())) {
    echo 'same class';
} else {
    echo 'different class';
}

The above example will output:

same class

Note:
Note that anonymous classes are assigned a name by the engine, as demonstrated in the following example. This name has to be regarded an implementation detail, which should not be relied upon.
<?php echo get_class(new class {});

The above example will output something similar to:
class@anonymous/in/oNi1A0x7f8636ad2021