Dynamically call Class with variable number of parameters in the constructor

Question

I know that it is possible to call a function with a variable number of parameters with call_user_func_array() found here -> http://php.net/manual/en/function.call-user-func-array.php . What I want to do is nearly identical, but instead of a function, I want to call a PHP class with a variable number of parameters in it's constructor.

It would work something like the below, but I won't know the number of parameters, so I won't know how to instantiate the class.

<?php
//The class name will be pulled dynamically from another source
$myClass = '\Some\Dynamically\Generated\Class';
//The parameters will also be pulled from another source, for simplicity I
//have used two parameters. There could be 0, 1, 2, N, ... parameters
$myParameters = array ('dynamicparam1', 'dynamicparam2');
//The instantiated class needs to be called with 0, 1, 2, N, ... parameters
//not just two parameters.
$myClassInstance = new $myClass($myParameters[0], $myParameters[1]);

Answer 1

You can do the following using ReflectionClass

$myClass = '\Some\Dynamically\Generated\a';
$myParameters = array ('dynamicparam1', 'dynamicparam2');

$reflection = new \ReflectionClass($myClass); 
$myClassInstance = $reflection->newInstanceArgs($myParameters); 

PHP manual: http://www.php.net/manual/en/reflectionclass.newinstanceargs.php

Edit:

In php 5.6 you can achieve this with Argument unpacking.

$myClass = '\Some\Dynamically\Generated\a';
$myParameters = ['dynamicparam1', 'dynamicparam2'];

$myClassInstance = new $myClass(...$myParameters); 

Answer 2

I implement this approach a lot when function args are > 2, rather then end up with an Christmas list of arguments which must be in a specific order, I simply pass in an associative array. By passing in an associative array, I can check for necessary and optional args and handle missing values as needed. Something like:

class MyClass
{
    protected $requiredArg1;
    protected $optionalArg1;

    public function __construct(array $options = array())
    {
        // Check for a necessary arg
        if (!isset($options['requiredArg1'])) {
            throw new Exception('Missing requiredArg1');
        }

        // Now I can just localize
        $requiredArg1 = $options['requiredArg1'];
        $optionalArg1 = (isset($options['optionalArg1'])) ? $options['optionalArg1'] : null;

        // Now that you have localized args, do what you want
        $this->requiredArg1 = $requiredArg1;
        $this->optionalArg1 = $optionalArg1;            
    }
}

// Example call
$class = 'MyClass';
$array = array('requiredArg1' => 'Foo!', 'optionalArg1' => 'Bar!');

$instance = new $class($array);

var_dump($instance->getRequiredArg1());
var_dump($instance->getOptionalArg1());

I highly recommend using an associative array, however it is possible to use a 0-index array. You will have to be extremely careful when constructing the array and account for indices that have meaning, otherwise you will pass in an array with offset args and wreck havoc with your function.