1 Use in PHP {#flatbuffers_guide_use_php} 2 ========== 3 4 ## Before you get started 5 6 Before diving into the FlatBuffers usage in PHP, it should be noted that 7 the [Tutorial](@ref flatbuffers_guide_tutorial) page has a complete guide to 8 general FlatBuffers usage in all of the supported languages 9 (including PHP). This page is specifically designed to cover the nuances of 10 FlatBuffers usage in PHP. 11 12 You should also have read the [Building](@ref flatbuffers_guide_building) 13 documentation to build `flatc` and should be familiar with 14 [Using the schema compiler](@ref flatbuffers_guide_using_schema_compiler) and 15 [Writing a schema](@ref flatbuffers_guide_writing_schema). 16 17 ## FlatBuffers PHP library code location 18 19 The code for FlatBuffers PHP library can be found at `flatbuffers/php`. You 20 can browse the library code on the [FlatBuffers 21 GitHub page](https://github.com/google/flatbuffers/tree/master/php). 22 23 ## Testing the FlatBuffers JavaScript library 24 25 The code to test the PHP library can be found at `flatbuffers/tests`. 26 The test code itself is located in [phpTest.php](https://github.com/google/ 27 flatbuffers/blob/master/tests/phpTest.php). 28 29 You can run the test with `php phpTest.php` from the command line. 30 31 *Note: The PHP test file requires 32 [PHP](http://php.net/manual/en/install.php) to be installed.* 33 34 ## Using theFlatBuffers PHP library 35 36 *Note: See [Tutorial](@ref flatbuffers_guide_tutorial) for a more in-depth 37 example of how to use FlatBuffers in PHP.* 38 39 FlatBuffers supports both reading and writing FlatBuffers in PHP. 40 41 To use FlatBuffers in your own code, first generate PHP classes from your schema 42 with the `--php` option to `flatc`. Then you can include both FlatBuffers and 43 the generated code to read or write a FlatBuffer. 44 45 For example, here is how you would read a FlatBuffer binary file in PHP: 46 First, include the library and generated code (using the PSR `autoload` 47 function). Then you can read a FlatBuffer binary file, which you 48 pass the contents of to the `GetRootAsMonster` function: 49 50 ~~~{.php} 51 // It is recommended that your use PSR autoload when using FlatBuffers in PHP. 52 // Here is an example: 53 function __autoload($class_name) { 54 // The last segment of the class name matches the file name. 55 $class = substr($class_name, strrpos($class_name, "\\") + 1); 56 $root_dir = join(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array(dirname(dirname(__FILE__)))); // `flatbuffers` root. 57 58 // Contains the `*.php` files for the FlatBuffers library and the `flatc` generated files. 59 $paths = array(join(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array($root_dir, "php")), 60 join(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array($root_dir, "tests", "MyGame", "Example"))); 61 foreach ($paths as $path) { 62 $file = join(DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR, array($path, $class . ".php")); 63 if (file_exists($file)) { 64 require($file); 65 break; 66 } 67 } 68 69 // Read the contents of the FlatBuffer binary file. 70 $filename = "monster.dat"; 71 $handle = fopen($filename, "rb"); 72 $contents = $fread($handle, filesize($filename)); 73 fclose($handle); 74 75 // Pass the contents to `GetRootAsMonster`. 76 $monster = \MyGame\Example\Monster::GetRootAsMonster($contents); 77 ~~~ 78 79 Now you can access values like this: 80 81 ~~~{.php} 82 $hp = $monster->GetHp(); 83 $pos = $monster->GetPos(); 84 ~~~ 85 86 ## Text Parsing 87 88 There currently is no support for parsing text (Schema's and JSON) directly 89 from PHP. 90
