Is it possible to replace (monkeypatch) PHP functions?

php function monkeypatching
gak picture gak · Feb 10, 2009 · Viewed 7.7k times · Source

You can do this in Python, but is it possible in PHP?

>>> def a(): print 1
... 
>>> def a(): print 2
... 
>>> a()
2

e.g.:

<? function var_dump() {} ?>
Fatal error: Cannot redeclare var_dump() in /tmp/- on line 1

Answer

Silviu G picture Silviu G · Aug 8, 2013

This is a bit late, but I just want to point out that since PHP 5.3, it is actually possible to override internal functions without using a PHP extension.

The trick is that you can redefine an internal PHP function inside a namespace. It's based on the way PHP does name resolution for functions:

Inside namespace (say A\B), calls to unqualified functions are resolved at run-time. Here is how a call to function foo() is resolved:

  1. It looks for a function from the current namespace: A\B\foo().
  2. It tries to find and call the global function foo()

Related questions

Deprecated: mysql_connect()

I am getting this warning, but the program still runs correctly. The MySQL code is showing me a message in PHP: Deprecated: mysql_connect(): The mysql extension is deprecated and will be removed in the future: use mysqli or PDO …

Read More
PHP Fatal error: Using $this when not in object context

I've got a problem: I'm writing a new WebApp without a Framework. In my index.php I'm using: require_once('load.php'); And in load.php I'm using require_once('class.php'); to load my class.php. In my class.…

Read More
PHP append one array to another (not array_push or +)

How to append one array to another without comparing their keys? $a = array( 'a', 'b' ); $b = array( 'c', 'd' ); At the end it should be: Array( [0]=>a [1]=>b [2]=>c [3]=>d ) If I use something like [] or …

Read More