Function name from variable

[sohost]

Hello.

How can I generate a function name based on the contents of a variable?

I have something like this, which obviously will not work, but this gives an idea of what I want to achieve:

if (some check = true){
$name = 'nameone';
} else {
$name = 'nametwo';
}

function $name."_DoThis"($params) {}

Is it possible to create a function name based on the contents of a variable?

[NogDog]

You could do it with [man]eval/man, I suppose, though the whole concept makes me a bit uncomfortable. 😉 Seems to me that making $name the first parameter of a single function might make more sense; but then I have no real idea why you'd want to do this in the first place.

[sohost]

I am working with an encoded script that references either the directory name or filename and the function name must match.

I want to be able to change the directory / filename, so the function name needs to change too, based on the filename or directory name.

It may now be an elegant solution, but i do need to define the function name based on the content of a variable.

I will read the eval() information, but could you perhaps give me an example of how something like this could be done?

Just like in the example, I need to have the function name change based on the variable defined.

[NogDog]

eval() simply(?) executes the string provided to it as PHP code.

<?php
$var = 'foo';
$string = "
function $var() {
   echo 'Hello, $var.';
}
";
eval($string);
foo();

[sohost]

Thanks NogDog, however i have not been able to get it to work with eval()

Surely there is a way to create the function name from a variable in PHP, without using a parenthesis.

I just need to change this:

function nameone_DoThis"($params) {}

to this:

function nametwo_DoThis"($params) {}

based on this if:

if (some check = true){
$name = 'nameone';
} else {
$name = 'nametwo';
}

[laserlight]

This seems to work:

<?php
$function = '($param) { echo $param; }';
$name = 'nameone';
$function = 'function ' . $name . '_DoThis' . $function;
eval($function);

nameone_DoThis('hello world!');

Though I am inclined to think that the script that you have to work with just has a brain damaged approach that forces to you use such a hack as this.

[Weedpacket]

Or, in the latest versions:

$nameone_DoThis = function($param)
{
    echo $param;
};


$name = 'nameone';

$function = $name."_DoThis";

$function('Hello world!');

Though I'd prefer to set up an array mapping strings to functions...

$do_these = array(
'nameone' => function($param) { echo $param; },
'nametwo' => //...
);

$function = $do_these['nameone'];
$function("Hello world");

[laserlight]

Weedpacket wrote:

Or, in the latest versions:

I was going to suggest that originally, but that won't work. The problem is that sohost really needs the function to be defined with that name. Assigning a closure to a variable does not do that.

[niroshan]

Hi sohost,

sohost;10954269 wrote:

if (some check = true){
$name = 'nameone';
} else {
$name = 'nametwo';
}

function $name."_DoThis"($params) {}

Just an idea, why don`t you create the function inside the conditions and call the function outside the conditions. This way you wont be having multiple function names.

ex:

$some_check = true;
if($some_check)
{
	function callme($params){ print 'ok :: '.$params; }
}
else
{
	function callme($params){ print 'no :: '.$params; }
}

callme('hello');

Hope this helps,

Best regards,
niroshan

[laserlight]

niroshan wrote:

Just an idea, why don`t you create the function inside the conditions and call the function outside the conditions. This way you wont be having multiple function names.

As I understand, sohost wants "to be able to change the directory / filename, so the function name needs to change too, based on the filename or directory name". Therefore, unless one can predict all the possible valid changes to the directory/filename, such hard coding is not feasible.