Classes/Object Functions
PHP Manual

is_a

(PHP 4 >= 4.2.0, PHP 5)

is_aChecks if the object is of this class or has this class as one of its parents

Description

bool is_a ( object $object , string $class_name )

Checks if the given object is of this class or has this class as one of its parents.

Parameters

object

The tested object

class_name

The class name

Return Values

Returns TRUE if the object is of this class or has this class as one of its parents, FALSE otherwise.

Changelog

Version Description
5.3.0 This function is no longer deprecated, and will therefore no longer throw E_STRICT warnings.
5.0.0 This function became deprecated in favour of the instanceof operator. Calling this function will result in an E_STRICT warning.

Examples

Example #1 is_a() example

<?php
// define a class
class WidgetFactory
{
  var 
$oink 'moo';
}

// create a new object
$WF = new WidgetFactory();

if (
is_a($WF'WidgetFactory')) {
  echo 
"yes, \$WF is still a WidgetFactory\n";
}
?>

Example #2 Using the instanceof operator in PHP 5

<?php
if ($WF instanceof WidgetFactory) {
    echo 
'Yes, $WF is a WidgetFactory';
}
?>

See Also


Classes/Object Functions
PHP Manual