How to Create Array of Objects in PHP

1. Create an Array of Class’ Objects in PHP
2. Create an Array of stdClass Objects in PHP
3. Create an Array of Object Using the array() Function in PHP

This article will introduce methods to create an array of objects in PHP.

Create an Array of Class’ Objects in PHP

We can use the array() function to create an array of objects in PHP. The function will take the object as the arguments and will create an array of those objects. We can create objects by creating a class and defining some properties of the class. The properties of the class will have some values. Finally, the properties and values will form a key-value pair in the array.

For example, create a class Motorcycle. Create two public properties, $name and $type. Then create an object $bike1 of the Motorcycle class using the new keyword. Populate the properties of the object with any suitable values. Similarly, create another object, $bike2 and populate the values accordingly. Next, create a variable $bike and write the array() function to it with the two objects $bike1 and $bike2 as the parameters. Finally, print the array variable $bikes with the print_r() function.

Thus, we can create an array of objects, as shown in the output section. We have created an array of the Motorcycle objects in the example below. We can see the indexes 0 and 1 for each Motorcycle object. The properties and values of each object are formed as a key-value pair, as stated above.

Example Code:

<?php
class Motorcycle
{
    public $name;
    public $type;
}

$bike1 = new Motorcycle();
$bike1->name = 'Husqvarna';
$bike1->type = 'dirt';
$bike2 = new Motorcycle();
$bike2->name = 'Goldwing';
$bike2->type = 'touring';
$bikes = array($bike1, $bike2);
?>
<pre><?php print_r($bikes);?> </pre>

Output:

Array
(
 [0] => Motorcycle Object
 (
 [name] => Husqvarna
 [type] => dirt
 )

 [1] => Motorcycle Object
 (
 [name] => Goldwing
 [type] => touring
 )
)

Create an Array of stdClass Objects in PHP

We can create an array of objects by creating an object of the stdClass in PHP. The stdClass is defined in the standard set of functions in PHP. It is not a base class of objects; rather, it is an empty class that can be used to typecast and set dynamic properties. We can create an object of the stdClass, which is an array by nature. Then, we can assign the dynamic properties to the object with the indexes.

For example, create an array $bikes[] and make it an object of the stdClass using the new keyword. Then, give the index 0 to the $bikes[] array and assign the properties name and type. Give some suitable values of your choice to the properties. Repeat the same process for index 1 in the $bikes[] array. Next, print the $bikes array.

The example below creates an array of stdClass objects, as shown in the output section below.

Example Code:

<?php
$bikes[] = new stdClass;

$bikes[0]->name = 'Husqvarna';
$bikes[0]->type = 'dirt';

$bikes[1]->name = 'Goldwing';
$bikes[1]->type = 'touring';
?>
<pre><?php print_r($bikes);?> </pre>

Ouput:

Array
(
 [0] => stdClass Object
 (
 [name] => Husqvarna
 [type] => dirt
 )

 [1] => stdClass Object
 (
 [name] => Goldwing
 [type] => touring
 )

)

Create an Array of Object Using the array() Function in PHP

This method is quite similar to the first method. We can create an array of objects by creating objects from a class. Here, we will first create an array using the array() function and then populate the objects in the array. In the first method, we created objects and then populated them in the array using the array() function. We will use the array index to set the values to the properties.

For example, create a Motorcycle class with properties as in the first method. Then create an array with the $bikes variable using the array() function. Leave the array empty. Then, create an object of the class from the $bike array using the 0 index. Set the properties and values for the 0 index as well. Repeat the same process for the 1 index. Finally, print the array using the print_r() function.

Example Code:

<?php
class Motorcycle
{
    public $name;
    public $type;
}
$bikes = array();

$bikes[0] = new Motorcycle();
$bikes[0]->name = 'Husqvarna';
$bikes[0]->type = 'dirt';

$bikes[1] = new Motorcycle();
$bikes[1]->name = 'Goldwing';
$bikes[1]->type = 'touring';
?>
<pre><?php print_r($bikes);?> </pre>

Output:

Array
(
 [0] => Motorcycle Object
 (
 [name] => Husqvarna
 [type] => dirt
 )

 [1] => Motorcycle Object
 (
 [name] => Goldwing
 [type] => touring
 )

)