What does “->” do in PHP?

In PHP, the -> operator is known as the object operator. It is used to access properties and methods of objects. When you create an instance of a class (an object), you use the -> operator to call methods or access properties of that object. Here are some examples to illustrate its usage:

In PHP, the -> operator is known as the object operator. It is used to access properties and methods of objects. When you create an instance of a class (an object), you use the -> operator to call methods or access properties of that object. Here are some examples to illustrate its usage:

Accessing Properties

class Person {
    public $name;
    
    public function __construct($name) {
        $this->name = $name;
    }
}

$person = new Person("Alice");
echo $person->name; // Outputs: Alice

Calling Methods

class Person {
    private $name;
    
    public function __construct($name) {
        $this->name = $name;
    }
    
    public function sayHello() {
        return "Hello, my name is " . $this->name;
    }
}

$person = new Person("Alice");
echo $person->sayHello(); // Outputs: Hello, my name is Alice

Detailed Explanation:

Creating an Object: The new keyword is used to create an instance of a class .

$object = new ClassName();

Accessing Properties: To access a property of an object, you use the -> operator.

$object->propertyName;

Calling Methods: To call a method on an object, you also use the -> operator.

$object->methodName();

Important Points:

• Visibility: The properties and methods being accessed must have appropriate visibility (public, protected, or private). If a property or method is private or protected, it can only be accessed within the class itself or by inherited classes (in the case of protected).
• Dynamic Properties: PHP allows dynamic addition of properties to objects at runtime, but this is generally discouraged as it can lead to code that is harder to understand and maintain.

Example:

phpCopy codeclass Example {
    public $data;
}

$example = new Example();
$example->data = "Hello, World!";
echo $example->data; // Outputs: Hello, World!

In summary, the -> operator in PHP is essential for working with object-oriented programming, allowing you to interact with the properties and methods of objects instantiated from classes.