Using __get()

The __get() magic method is triggered when trying to read the data from an inaccessible property. The method accepts a single parameter, as per the following synopsis:

public mixed __get(string $name)

The $name argument is the name of the property being interacted with.

Let's take a look at the following object context example:

<?php

class User
{
  private $data = [
    'name' => 'Marry',
    'age' => 32,
    'salary' => 5300.00,
  ];

  private $name = 'John';
  protected $age = 34;
  public $salary = 4200.00;

  public function __get($name)
  {
    if (array_key_exists($name, $this->data)) {
      echo '__get => ' . $name . ': ' . $this->data[$name] . PHP_EOL;
    } else {
      trigger_error('Undefined property: ' . $name, E_USER_NOTICE);
    }
  }
}

$user = new User();

echo $user->name . PHP_EOL;
echo $user->age . PHP_EOL;
echo $user->salary . PHP_EOL;
echo $user->message . PHP_EOL;

The User class defines four different properties, across...