Magic Method

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.syntblaze.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

​

Architectural Rules

• Visibility: With the exception of __construct(), __destruct(), and __clone() (which can be protected or private), all magic methods must be declared as public.
• Context: Only __callStatic() and __set_state() are declared as static. All others operate within the object instance context ($this).
• Signatures: Magic methods have strict signature requirements, particularly regarding return types (e.g., __toString() must return a string).

​

Syntax and Signatures

class MagicMethodImplementation 
{
    // Object Lifecycle
    public function __construct(mixed ...$args) {}
    public function __destruct() {}
    public function __clone(): void {}

    // Property Overloading (Interception)
    public function __get(string $name): mixed {}
    public function __set(string $name, mixed $value): void {}
    public function __isset(string $name): bool {}
    public function __unset(string $name): void {}

    // Method Overloading (Interception)
    public function __call(string $name, array $arguments): mixed {}
    public static function __callStatic(string $name, array $arguments): mixed {}

    // Serialization
    public function __sleep(): array {}
    public function __wakeup(): void {}
    public function __serialize(): array {}
    public function __unserialize(array $data): void {}

    // Representation and Execution
    public function __toString(): string {}
    public function __invoke(mixed ...$arguments): mixed {}
    public static function __set_state(array $properties): object {}
    public function __debugInfo(): array {}
}

​

Mechanical Definitions

​

Object Lifecycle

• __construct(): Triggered automatically during object instantiation (new ClassName()).
• __destruct(): Triggered by the garbage collector when no references to the object remain, or during the script shutdown sequence.
• __clone(): Triggered immediately after an object is duplicated using the clone keyword, operating on the newly created instance.

​

Property Overloading

• __get(): Triggered when reading data from inaccessible (protected/private) or non-existent properties.
• __set(): Triggered when writing data to inaccessible or non-existent properties.
• __isset(): Triggered by calling the language constructs isset() or empty() on inaccessible or non-existent properties.
• __unset(): Triggered by calling the language construct unset() on inaccessible or non-existent properties.

​

Method Overloading

• __call(): Triggered when invoking inaccessible or non-existent methods in an object context. The $arguments parameter receives an enumerated array of the passed parameters.
• __callStatic(): Triggered when invoking inaccessible or non-existent methods in a static context (ClassName::method()).

​

Serialization

• __sleep(): Triggered prior to execution of serialize(). It must return an array containing the names of all variables of the object that should be serialized.
• __wakeup(): Triggered immediately upon execution of unserialize().
• __serialize(): (PHP 7.4+) Triggered by serialize(). It must return an associative array representing the object’s state. If defined, it supersedes __sleep().
• __unserialize(): (PHP 7.4+) Triggered by unserialize(). It receives the associative array generated by __serialize(). If defined, it supersedes __wakeup().

​

Representation and Execution

• __toString(): Triggered when an object is cast to a string or evaluated in a string context (e.g., echo $obj).
• __invoke(): Triggered when a script attempts to call an object instance as a function (e.g., $obj()).
• __set_state(): Triggered by var_export(). It receives an associative array of exported properties and must return an instance of the class.
• __debugInfo(): Triggered by var_dump(). It must return an array of properties that should be displayed in the dump output, overriding the default behavior of dumping all properties.