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method_exists

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

method_exists — Checks if the class method exists

Description

method_exists(object|string $object_or_class, string $method): bool

Checks if the class method exists in the given object_or_class.

Parameters

object_or_class

An object instance or a class name

method

The method name

Return Values

Returns true if the method given by method has been defined for the given object_or_class, false otherwise.

Changelog

Version Description
7.4.0 Class checks against inherited private methods now return false.

Examples

Example #1 method_exists() example

<?php
$directory = new Directory('.');
var_dump(method_exists($directory,'read'));
?>

The above example will output:

bool(true)

Example #2 Static method_exists() example

<?php
var_dump(method_exists('Directory','read'));
?>

The above example will output:

bool(true)

Notes

Note:

Using this function will use any registered autoloaders if the class is not already known.

Note: The method_exists() function cannot detect methods that are magically accessible using the __call magic method.

See Also