PHP | ReflectionClass getParentClass() Function

The ReflectionClass::getParentClass() function is an inbuilt function in PHP which is used to return the specified parent class or false if there is no parent class is present.

Syntax:

ReflectionClass ReflectionClass::getParentClass ( void )

Parameters: This function does not accept any parameters.

Return Value: This function returns the specified parent class or false if there is no parent class is present.

Below programs illustrate the ReflectionClass::getParentClass() function in PHP:
Program 1:

<?php

// Defining a class named as College
class College {

    // Defining a protected property
    protected $College_Name = 'IIT Delhi';
}

// Defining a sub class Departments of the
// base class College
class Departments extends College {
    public $Dept1 = 'CSE';
    private $Dept2 = 'ECE';
    public static $Dept3 = 'EE';
}

// Using ReflectionClass over sub class Departments
$ReflectionClass = new ReflectionClass('Departments');

// Getting the name of the parent class
var_dump($ReflectionClass->getParentClass());
?>

Output:

object(ReflectionClass)#2 (1) {
  ["name"]=>
  string(7) "College"
}

Program 2:

<?php

// Defining a class named as College
class College {

    // Defining a protected property
    protected $College_Name = 'IIT Delhi';
}

// Using ReflectionClass over the class College
$ReflectionClass = new ReflectionClass('College');

// Getting the name of the parent class
var_dump($ReflectionClass->getParentClass());
?>

Output:

bool(false)

Reference: https://www.php.net/manual/en/reflectionclass.getparentclass.php