PHP Accessing Parent Class Variable

Question

class A {
    private $aa;
    protected $bb = 'parent bb';
    
    function __construct($arg) {
       //do something..
    }
    
    private function parentmethod($arg2) {
       //do something..
    }
}

class B extends A {
    function __construct($arg) {
        parent::__construct($arg);
    }
    function childfunction() {
        echo parent::$bb; //Fatal error: Undefined class constant 'bb' 
    }
}

$test = new B($some);
$test->childfunction();

Question: How do I display the parent variable in the child? the expected result will echo 'parent bb'

Answer 1

echo $this->bb;

The variable is inherited and is not private, so it is a part of the current object.

---

Here is additional information in response to your request for more information about using parent:::

Use parent:: when you want add extra functionality to a method from the parent class. For example, imagine an Airplane class:

class Airplane {
    private $pilot;

    public function __construct( $pilot ) {
        $this->pilot = $pilot;
    }
}

Now suppose we want to create a new type of Airplane that also has a navigator. You can extend the __construct() method to add the new functionality, but still make use of the functionality offered by the parent:

class Bomber extends Airplane {
    private $navigator;

    public function __construct( $pilot, $navigator ) {
        $this->navigator = $navigator;

        parent::__construct( $pilot ); // Assigns $pilot to $this->pilot
    }
}

In this way, you can follow the DRY principle of development but still provide all of the functionality you desire.