Question

Cannot cast to a user object in PHP

Asked by: grahamtilson

Hi,

I’ve got a PHP class called User which I am using across sessions by implementing the __sleep and __wakeup methods.  The class itself is working fine, but I’ve lost introspection within the visual studio IDE as I have to get it from the session object and not via the new object keyword.

So when I do $user = new User(); code completion works fine as the IDE knows it’s a User object.

However, when I do $user = $_SESSION['user']; the IDE doesn’t know what type it is and I lose the code completion.

Does anyone know how I could get around this?

Regards

Graham

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2007-11-17 at 10:12:31ID22967745
Tags

cast

,

php

,

object

Topic

PHP Scripting Language

Participating Experts
1
Points
0
Comments
4

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. keyword extraction php script
    hi there I am in need of a script that can extract from overture from a form seek all possiblilites based on that keyword then remove an phrase duplciates and save to a named text file based on the keyword typed in the form. http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/s...
  2. cast keyword in C++
    Hi Experts, There is a keyword, cast< > in C++. How it is used? Is it from the STL? Can you please provide me an example of how to use this?
  3. Keyword scan for a URL using php
    I have a problem of Keyword Site Scan. Keyword Site Scan gives all keywords of a given link. It means when I write a link then after searching it will give all keywords of this particular link. It is possible via Google SOAP API, but now Google is not giving any SOAP API key...
  4. php + mysql search with N keywords
    I have a mysql database with the next fields per record (is not like this, but I'm simplifying): 1.ID (int) 2. Location (varchar) 3.Text (vachar) I want to make a search in my mysql database, and I want to get the records that have ANY of the keywords given by the user (the...
  5. IE and php
    Hi, I have a php program that runs fine in all browsers except IE. Does anyone know why IE might have a problem with php while other browsers don't?

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: nizsmoPosted on 2007-11-17 at 13:29:31ID: 20305444

I wouldn't think you can get around this. This is because:

$_SESSION["user"] you know will be a User() object, however it has the potential to be anything else, string, integer, etc... thus the IDE cannot be sure therefore doesn't auto-complete for you.

You can always try casting, if this doesn't work then I wouldn't think there's a way to fix this.

$user = (User) $_SESSION['user'];

Hope this helps.

 

by: grahamtilsonPosted on 2007-11-19 at 02:03:50ID: 20311289

Yes, I tried casting, but you can't cast to a user object, which seems a bit crazy.  I think I'll raise this with Zend as a support ticket.

 

by: grahamtilsonPosted on 2007-11-19 at 04:18:12ID: 20311749

I got a response from Zend.  The answer is PHPDOC!

This was the solution:

**
* Returns the user object
*
* The user object contains all data about the user including the signed on flag
*
* @return       User      Returns the User object
*/
function get_user_obj() {
      if (!isset($_SESSION['user'])) {
            $_SESSION['user'] = new User();
      }
      return $_SESSION['user'];
}

$user = get_user_obj();

Now code completion with work for $user

 

by: nizsmoPosted on 2007-11-19 at 10:33:51ID: 20314264

ahh i see, nice one thanks for sharing the solution :)

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...