Creating the Singleton design pattern in PHP5

Question

/**
 * Singleton class
 *
 */
final class UserFactory
{
    /**
     * Call this method to get singleton
     *
     * @return UserFactory
     */
    public static function Instance()
    {
        static $inst = null;
        if ($inst === null) {
            $inst = new UserFactory();
        }
        return $inst;
    }

    /**
     * Private ctor so nobody else can instantiate it
     *
     */
    private function __construct()
    {

    }
}

To use:

$fact = UserFactory::Instance();
$fact2 = UserFactory::Instance();

$fact == $fact2;

But:

$fact = new UserFactory()

Throws an error.

See http://php.net/manual/en/language.variables.scope.php#language.variables.scope.static to understand static variable scopes and why setting static $inst = null; works.

Unfortunately Inwdr's answer breaks when there are multiple subclasses.

Here is a correct inheritable Singleton base class.

class Singleton
{
    private static $instances = array();
    protected function __construct() {}
    protected function __clone() {}
    public function __wakeup()
    {
        throw new Exception("Cannot unserialize singleton");
    }

    public static function getInstance()
    {
        $cls = get_called_class(); // late-static-bound class name
        if (!isset(self::$instances[$cls])) {
            self::$instances[$cls] = new static;
        }
        return self::$instances[$cls];
    }
}

Test code:

class Foo extends Singleton {}
class Bar extends Singleton {}

echo get_class(Foo::getInstance()) . "\n";
echo get_class(Bar::getInstance()) . "\n";

PHP 5.3 allows the creation of an inheritable Singleton class via late static binding:

class Singleton
{
    protected static $instance = null;

    protected function __construct()
    {
        //Thou shalt not construct that which is unconstructable!
    }

    protected function __clone()
    {
        //Me not like clones! Me smash clones!
    }

    public static function getInstance()
    {
        if (!isset(static::$instance)) {
            static::$instance = new static;
        }
        return static::$instance;
    }
}

This solves the problem, that prior to PHP 5.3 any class that extended a Singleton would produce an instance of its parent class instead of its own.

Now you can do:

class Foobar extends Singleton {};
$foo = Foobar::getInstance();

And $foo will be an instance of Foobar instead of an instance of Singleton.

The Real One and Modern way to make Singleton Pattern is:

<?php

/**
 * Singleton Pattern.
 * 
 * Modern implementation.
 */
class Singleton
{
    /**
     * Call this method to get singleton
     */
    public static function instance()
    {
      static $instance = false;
      if( $instance === false )
      {
        // Late static binding (PHP 5.3+)
        $instance = new static();
      }

      return $instance;
    }

    /**
     * Make constructor private, so nobody can call "new Class".
     */
    private function __construct() {}

    /**
     * Make clone magic method private, so nobody can clone instance.
     */
    private function __clone() {}

    /**
     * Make sleep magic method private, so nobody can serialize instance.
     */
    private function __sleep() {}

    /**
     * Make wakeup magic method private, so nobody can unserialize instance.
     */
    private function __wakeup() {}

}

So now you can use it like.

<?php

/**
 * Database.
 *
 * Inherited from Singleton, so it's now got singleton behavior.
 */
class Database extends Singleton {

  protected $label;

  /**
   * Example of that singleton is working correctly.
   */
  public function setLabel($label)
  {
    $this->label = $label;
  }

  public function getLabel()
  {
    return $this->label;
  }

}

// create first instance
$database = Database::instance();
$database->setLabel('Abraham');
echo $database->getLabel() . PHP_EOL;

// now try to create other instance as well
$other_db = Database::instance();
echo $other_db->getLabel() . PHP_EOL; // Abraham

$other_db->setLabel('Priler');
echo $database->getLabel() . PHP_EOL; // Priler
echo $other_db->getLabel() . PHP_EOL; // Priler

As you see this realization is lot more flexible.

You probably should add a private __clone() method to disallow cloning of an instance.

private function __clone() {}

If you don't include this method the following gets possible

$inst1=UserFactory::Instance(); // to stick with the example provided above
$inst2=clone $inst1;

now $inst1 !== $inst2 - they are not the same instance any more.

<?php
/**
 * Singleton patter in php
 **/
trait SingletonTrait {
   protected static $inst = null;

  /**
   * call this method to get instance
   **/
   public static function getInstance(){
      if (static::$inst === null){
         static::$inst = new static();
      }
      return static::$inst;
  }

  /**
   * protected to prevent clonning 
   **/
  protected function __clone(){
  }

  /**
   * protected so no one else can instance it 
   **/
  protected function __construct(){
  }
}

to use:

/**
 *  example of class definitions using SingletonTrait
 */
class DBFactory {
  /**
   * we are adding the trait here 
   **/
   use SingletonTrait;

  /**
   * This class will have a single db connection as an example
   **/
  protected $db;


 /**
  * as an example we will create a PDO connection
  **/
  protected function __construct(){
    $this->db = 
        new PDO('mysql:dbname=foodb;port=3305;host=127.0.0.1','foouser','foopass');
  }
}
class DBFactoryChild extends DBFactory {
  /**
   * we repeating the inst so that it will differentiate it
   * from UserFactory singleton
   **/
   protected static $inst = null;
}


/**
 * example of instanciating the classes
 */
$uf0 = DBFactoryChild::getInstance();
var_dump($uf0);
$uf1 = DBFactory::getInstance();
var_dump($uf1);
echo $uf0 === $uf1;

respose:

object(DBFactoryChild)#1 (0) {
}
object(DBFactory)#2 (0) {
}

If you are using PHP 5.4: trait its an option, so you don't have to waste the inheritance hierarchy in order to have the Singleton pattern

and also notice that whether you use traits or extends Singleton class one loose end was to create singleton of child classes if you dont add the following line of code:

   protected static $inst = null;

in the child class

the unexpected result will be:

object(DBFactoryChild)#1 (0) {
}
object(DBFactoryChild)#1 (0) {
}

protected  static $_instance;

public static function getInstance()
{
    if(is_null(self::$_instance))
    {
        self::$_instance = new self();
    }
    return self::$_instance;
}

This code can apply for any class without caring about its class name.