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[Utility & Helpers](/categories/utility) 4. / 5. xp-framework/reflection ActiveLibrary[Utility & Helpers](/categories/utility) xp-framework/reflection ======================= Reflection v3.6.0(3mo ago)2306.1k—2.9%[3 PRs](https://github.com/xp-framework/reflection/pulls)13BSD-3-ClausePHPPHP >=7.4.0CI passing Since Dec 7Pushed 3mo ago1 watchersCompare [ Source](https://github.com/xp-framework/reflection)[ Packagist](https://packagist.org/packages/xp-framework/reflection)[ Docs](http://xp-framework.net/)[ RSS](/packages/xp-framework-reflection/feed)WikiDiscussions main Synced 1mo ago READMEChangelog (10)Dependencies (3)Versions (68)Used By (13) XP Reflection ============= [](#xp-reflection) [![Build status on GitHub](https://github.com/xp-framework/reflection/workflows/Tests/badge.svg)](https://github.com/xp-framework/reflection/actions)[![XP Framework Module](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xp-framework/web/master/static/xp-framework-badge.png)](https://github.com/xp-framework/core)[![BSD Licence](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xp-framework/web/master/static/licence-bsd.png)](https://github.com/xp-framework/core/blob/master/LICENCE.md)[![Requires PHP 7.4+](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xp-framework/web/master/static/php-7_4plus.svg)](http://php.net/)[![Supports PHP 8.0+](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xp-framework/web/master/static/php-8_0plus.svg)](http://php.net/)[![Latest Stable Version](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/e0567cd69aba19125c567817f95b93f20ad26f10fae087e03e92c8011bb19278/68747470733a2f2f706f7365722e707567782e6f72672f78702d6672616d65776f726b2f7265666c656374696f6e2f76657273696f6e2e737667)](https://packagist.org/packages/xp-framework/reflection) This library provides a replacement for the XP Framework's reflection API. Features -------- [](#features) **Concise**: This library aims at reducing code noise of the form `if (hasX(...)) { getX() }` by simply returning NULL from its accessor methods. Null handling has improved with the introduction of the null-coalesce operator `??` in PHP 7 and the null-safe invocation operator `?->` in PHP 8 (and in [XP Compiler](https://github.com/xp-framework/compiler)). **PHP 7 & 8**: This library handles PHP 8 attributes in both PHP 7 (*using the compiler's AST library*) and PHP 8 (*using its native reflection API*). **Subcommand**: This library provides an [RFC #0303 integration](https://github.com/xp-framework/rfc/issues/303) and offers a "reflect" subcommand for the new XP runners. See `xp help reflect` on how to use it. API --- [](#api) The entry point class is the `lang.Reflection` class. It can be constructed by passing either objects, type literals (e.g. `Date::class`), fully qualified class names (e.g. `util.Date`) or `lang.XPClass` or PHP's `ReflectionClass` instances. ``` use lang\Reflection; use org\example\{Base, Inject, Fixture}; $type= Reflection::type(Fixture::class); $type->name(); // org.example.Fixture $type->declaredName(); // Fixture $type->literal(); // Fixture::class $type->modifiers(); // Modifiers $type->comment(); // (api doc comment) $type->class(); // lang.XPClass instance $type->classLoader(); // lang.ClassLoader instance $type->package(); // Package or NULL $type->parent(); // Type or NULL $type->interfaces(); // Type[] $type->traits(); // Type[] $type->kind(); // Kind::$INTERFACE, Kind::$TRAIT, Kind::$CLASS, Kind::$ENUM $type->is(Base::class); // true if ($type->instantiable()) { $instance= $type->newInstance('Testing'); } $type->isInstance($instance); // true ``` Annotations can be accessed by iterating over `annotations()` or by the shorthand method `annotation()`. ``` foreach ($type->annotations() as $annotation) { $annotation->type(); // Author::class $annotation->name(); // 'author' $annotation->arguments(); // ['Test', test => true] $annotation->argument(0); // 'Test' $annotation->argument('test'); // true $annotation->newInstance(); // Author class instance } $type->annotation(Inject::class); // Annotation or NULL ``` The constructor can be accessed via `constructor()`. Like members, it provides accessors for modifiers and annotations, as well as its declaring type. ``` $type->constructor(); // Constructor or NULL if ($constructor= $type->constructor()) { $constructor->name(); // '__construct' $constructor->compoundName(); // 'org.example.Fixture::__construct()' $constructor->modifiers(); // Modifiers $constructor->comment(); // (api doc comment) $constructor->annotations(); // Annotations $constructor->annotation(Inject::class); // Annotation or NULL $constructor->declaredIn(); // Type $constructor->parameters(); // Parameters $constructor->parameter(0); // Parameter or NULL $constructor->newInstance([]); // (instance of the type) } ``` Type instantiation can be controlled by using `initializer()`. It accepts either closures or named references to instance methods. ``` // Instantiates type without invoking a constructor // Any passed arguments are discarded silently $instance= $type->initializer(null)->newInstance(); // Instantiates type by providing a constructor, regardless of whether one exists or not // Arguments are passed on to the initializer function, which has access to $this $instance= $type->initializer(function($name) { $this->name= $name; })->newInstance(['Test']); // Instantiates type by selecting an instance method as an initializer // The unserialize callback is invoked with ['name' => 'Test'] if ($unserialize= $type->initializer('__unserialize')) { $instance= $unserialize->newInstance([['name' => 'Test']]); } ``` All members (constants, properties and methods) can be accessed by iterating or by a shorthand lookup by name. Members provide accessors for modifiers and annotations, as well as their declaring type. ``` $type->constant('POWER'); // Constant or NULL $type->property('value'); // Property or NULL $type->method('fixture'); // Method or NULL foreach ($type->constants() as $name => $constant) { $constant->name(); // 'POWER' $constant->compoundName(); // 'org.example.Fixture::POWER' $constant->value(); // 6100 $constant->modifiers(); // Modifiers $constant->comment(); // (api doc comment) $constant->annotations(); // Annotations $constant->annotation(Inject::class); // Annotation or NULL $constant->declaredIn(); // Type } foreach ($type->properties() as $name => $property) { $property->name(); // 'value' $property->compoundName(); // 'org.example.Fixture::$value' $property->modifiers(); // Modifiers $property->comment(); // (api doc comment) $property->annotations(); // Annotations $property->annotation(Inject::class); // Annotation or NULL $property->declaredIn(); // Type $property->constraint(); // Constraint $property->get($instance); // (property value) $property->set($instance, $value); // (value) } foreach ($type->methods() as $name => $method) { $method->name(); // 'fixture' $method->compoundName(); // 'org.example.Fixture::fixture()' $method->comment(); // (api doc comment) $method->modifiers(); // Modifiers $method->annotations(); // Annotations $method->annotation(Inject::class); // Annotation or NULL $method->declaredIn(); // Type $method->returns(); // Constraint $method->parameters(); // Parameters $method->parameter(0); // Parameter or NULL $method->closure($instance); // Closure instance $method->invoke($instance, []); // (method return value) } ``` Method and constructor parameters can be retrieved by iterating via `parameters()`, by offset `parameter($position)` or by name `parameter($name)`. ``` $method->parameter(0); // Parameter or NULL $method->parameter('arg'); // Parameter or NULL $parameters= $method->parameters(); // Parameters instance $parameters->at(0); // Parameter or NULL $parameters->named('arg'); // Parameter or NULL $args= ['test']; if ($parameters->accept($args)) { $method->invoke(null, $args); } foreach ($parameters as $name => $parameter) { $parameter->position(); // 0 $parameter->name(); // 'arg' $parameter->variadic(); // false $parameter->optional(); // true $parameter->default(); // (parameter default value) $parameter->constraint(); // Constraint $parameter->annotations(); // Annotations $parameter->annotation(Inject::class) // Annotation or NULL } ``` Packages can be reflected upon by passing namespace names to `Reflection::of()`. ``` use lang\Reflection; $package= Reflection::of('org.example'); $package->name(); // org.example $package->literal(); // 'org\example' $package->type('Fixture'); // Type instance $package->implementation($t, 'Fixture'); // Type instance (subclass of $t) $package->types(); // iterable with Type instances $package->parent() // Package or NULL $package->child('impl') // Child package "org.example.impl" or NULL $package->children(); // iterable with Package instances $package->classLoaders(); // iterable with lang.ClassLoader instances ``` ### Health Score 54 — FairBetter than 97% of packages Maintenance82 Actively maintained with recent releases Popularity34 Limited adoption so far Community16 Small or concentrated contributor base Maturity68 Established project with proven stability Bus Factor1 Top contributor holds 100% of commits — single point of failure How is this calculated?**Maintenance (25%)** — Last commit recency, latest release date, and issue-to-star ratio. Uses a 2-year decay window. **Popularity (30%)** — Total and monthly downloads, GitHub stars, and forks. Logarithmic scaling prevents top-heavy scores. **Community (15%)** — Contributors, dependents, forks, watchers, and maintainers. Measures real ecosystem engagement. **Maturity (30%)** — Project age, version count, PHP version support, and release stability. ### Release Activity Cadence Every ~31 days Recently: every ~78 days Total 61 Last Release 93d ago Major Versions v0.9.0 → v1.0.02020-12-20 v1.9.1 → v2.0.02022-01-09 v2.14.1 → v3.0.02024-03-23 v2.15.0 → v3.2.02024-08-27 PHP version history (2 changes)v0.1.0PHP >=7.0.0 v3.0.0PHP >=7.4.0 ### Community Maintainers ![](https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/07d18d882c8b4aaf3466432f64018214f2771eda333202175431ee7233795376?d=identicon)[thekid](/maintainers/thekid) --- Top Contributors [![thekid](https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/696742?v=4)](https://github.com/thekid "thekid (459 commits)") --- Tags annotationsattributesphp7php8reflectionxp-frameworkmodulexp ### Embed Badge ![Health badge](/badges/xp-framework-reflection/health.svg) ``` [![Health](https://phpackages.com/badges/xp-framework-reflection/health.svg)](https://phpackages.com/packages/xp-framework-reflection) ``` ### Alternatives [xp-framework/compiler XP Compiler 2026.0k9](/packages/xp-framework-compiler) PHPackages © 2026 [Directory](/)[Categories](/categories)[Trending](/trending)[Changelog](/changelog)[Analyze](/analyze)