Can you make a PHP function recursive without repeating its name?

Question

It's always bugged me a recursive function needs to name itself, when a instantiated class can use $this and a static method can use self etc.

Is there a similar way to do this in a recursive function without naming it again (just to cut down on maintenance)?

Obviously I could use call_user_func or the __FUNCTION__ constant but I would prefer something less ugly.

Answer 1

You can make use of variable functions and declare a variable with the function name at the beginning of you function (or wherever). No need for call_user_func:

function test($i) {
   $__name = __FUNCTION__;
   if($i > 5) {
       echo $i. "\n";
       $__name($i-1);
   }
}

Don't forget that using the real function name is probably more readable for other people :)
(at least provide a comment why you do this)

---

Update:
As @Alix mentions in his comment, it might be useful to declare $__name as static. This way, the value is not assigned over and over again to the variable.

Answer 2

I don't know why this is ugly:

return call_user_func_array(__FUNCTION__, func_get_args());

Versus:

return call_user_func_array('someFunction', func_get_args());

You would still need to use call_user_func_array() if you're looking to cut down on maintenance (if your functions have [a lot / a different number] of arguments).

Other than that I don't see another way. Also a static method cannot reference itself using self::, only to its class. You would also need to use the magic __METHOD__ constant to do that.