SPL Functions
PHP Manual

class_parents

Return the parent classes of the given class

Description

array class_parents ( mixed $class [, bool $autoload = true ] )

This function returns an array with the name of the parent classes of the given class.

Parameters

class

An object (class instance) or a string (class name).

autoload

Whether to allow this function to load the class automatically through the __autoload magic method.

Return Values

An array on success, or FALSE on error.

Changelog

Version Description
5.1.0 Added the option to pass the class parameter as a string. Added the autoload parameter.

Examples

Example #1 class_parents example

<?php

class foo { }
class bar extends foo {}

print_r(class_parents(new bar));

// since PHP 5.1.0 you may also specify the parameter as a string
print_r(class_parents('bar'));


function __autoload($class_name) {
   require_once $class_name . '.php';
}

// use __autoload to load the 'not_loaded' class
print_r(class_parents('not_loaded', true));
?>

The above example will output something similar to:

Array
(
    [foo] => foo
)

Array
(
    [parent_of_not_loaded] => parent_of_not_loaded
)

See Also

  • class_implements