Working with PHP Class Properties

Question

I have created a new class named Player with 2 properties:

1. name

2. ID

I have no idea how the following code worked to me, that's why I'm asking you:

<?php
$player = new Player();
$player->name = "Someone";
$player->ID = 123;
$player->color = "Red"; // Why it worked?
echo $player->color; // Worked great too!
?>

I could set a property color and use it when I haven't even declared it in my class file. How is it possible?

Answer 1

In PHP, the feature is called property overloading (the "overloading" term is misused! it should've been something like "interpreter hooks", instead).

Overloading in PHP provides means to dynamically "create" properties and methods.^qoute

You can use the dynamic properties as if they've been declared in the class definition; like:

class A {
}

$a = new A();
$a->myProperty = 'something';