Classes/Objects
PHP Manual

class_exists

(PHP 4, PHP 5)

class_exists — Checks if the class has been defined

Description

bool class_exists ( string $class_name [, bool $autoload ] )

This function checks whether or not the given class has been defined.

Parameters

class_name

The class name. The name is matched in a case-insensitive manner.

autoload

Whether or not to call __autoload by default. Defaults to TRUE.

Return Values

Returns TRUE if class_name is a defined class, FALSE otherwise.

ChangeLog

Version Description
5.0.2 No longer returns TRUE for defined interfaces. Use interface_exists().
5.0.0 The autoload parameter was added.

Examples

Example#1 class_exists() example

<?php
// Check that the class exists before trying to use it
if (class_exists('MyClass')) {
    
$myclass = new MyClass();
}

?>

Example#2 autoload parameter example

<?php
function __autoload($class)
{
    include(
$class '.php');

    
// Check to see whether the include declared the class
    
if (!class_exists($classfalse)) {
        
trigger_error("Unable to load class: $class"E_USER_WARNING);
    }
}

if (
class_exists('MyClass')) {
    
$myclass = new MyClass();
}

?>

See Also


Classes/Objects
PHP Manual