Can I put PHP extension classes, functions, etc. in a namespace?

Question

I am writing a PHP extension in C, and I would like to put the classes, functions, and variables I am creating in a namespace. I have not been able to find anything in the extension documentation regarding namespaces. To be clear, I want the equivalent of

namespace MyNamespace{
  class MyClass{
  }
}

but in a C extension. More specifically, I am looking for a function or macro in the Zend C API that allows me to assign a PHP namespace to a class or function I have written in C. Is this possible?

Answer 1

Putting a class in a namespace is very simple. Where normally you would initialize a class with

zend_class_entry ce;
INIT_CLASS_ENTRY(ce, "MyClass", my_class_methods);

instead write the second line as

INIT_CLASS_ENTRY(ce, "MyNamespace\\MyClass", my_class_methods);

The namespace does not need to be included in the method declarations or in the members of the my_class_methods array to properly match them with the class.

Answer 2

To use Namespaces in PHP extensions, you are basically just putting a prefix in front of the class or function name.

I'm not really a PHP internals developer, so the specifics are not entirely clear to me how this works, unfortunately there is very, very little information online that I could find about this as well (I really put Google through it's paces), and the article below is the best I could find.

However, it seems this article hints at the correct solution, which seems to be, that when you register the function with the Zend engine/PHP internals, you do so like "myNS\\MyFunc" and it should then be accessible from the myNS defined there. I would try out a few different variations with this, and see how far that gets you.

Your best option would be to ask in #php-internals on Freenode (if you can get an invitation) or on the PHP Mailing list.

If you manage to find a solution, the Internet seems to be in need of a good article on how one would accomplish this.

Source http://www.php-cpp.com/documentation/namespaces

A namespace is nothing else than a class or function prefix. If you want your classes or functions to appear in a specific namespace, you simply have to add a prefix to the class or function name....

Update: I've updated my answer to try to be more clear. I'm sorry it took so long, I originally replied from my Phone while I was traveling, with every intention of coming back and responding to your original comment, but I genuinely forgot about it until I got a notification from SO about comments. My apologies.