What is stdClass in PHP?

Difficulty Level : Medium
Last Updated : 27 Sep, 2018

The stdClass is the empty class in PHP which is used to cast other types to object. It is similar to Java or Python object. The stdClass is not the base class of the objects. If an object is converted to object, it is not modified. But, if object type is converted/type-casted an instance of stdClass is created, if it is not NULL. If it is NULL, the new instance will be empty.

Uses:

The stdClass directly access the members by calling them.
It is useful in dynamic object.
It is used to set dynamic properties etc.

Program 1: Using array to storing data

<?php 
      
// Array definition of an employee 
$employee_detail_array = array( 
    "name" => "John Doe", 
    "position" => "Software Engineer", 
    "address" => "53, nth street, city", 
    "status" => "best"
); 
  
// Display the array content 
print_r($employee_detail_array); 
?> 

Output:

Array
(
    [name] => John Doe
    [position] => Software Engineer
    [address] => 53, nth street, city
    [status] => best
)

Program 2: Using stdClass instead of array to store employee details (dynamic properties)

<?php 
      
// Object-styled definition of an employee 
$employee_object = new stdClass; 
$employee_object->name = "John Doe"; 
$employee_object->position = "Software Engineer"; 
$employee_object->address = "53, nth street, city"; 
$employee_object->status = "Best"; 
      
// Display the employee contents 
print_r($employee_object); 
?> 

Output:

stdClass Object
(
    [name] => John Doe
    [position] => Software Engineer
    [address] => 53, nth street, city
    [status] => Best
)

Note: The type casting of array into object and object to array is possible.

Program 3: Converting array into object

<?php 
  
// Aarray definition of an employee 
$employee_detail_array = array( 
    "name" => "John Doe", 
    "position" => "Software Engineer", 
    "address" => "53, nth street, city", 
    "status" => "best"
); 
  
// type casting from array to object 
$employee = (object) $employee_detail_array; 
      
print_r($employee); 
?> 

Output:

stdClass Object
(
    [name] => John Doe
    [position] => Software Engineer
    [address] => 53, nth street, city
    [status] => best
)

Program 4: Converting object properties into array

<?php 
      
// Object-styled definition of an employee 
$employee_object = new stdClass; 
$employee_object->name = "John Doe"; 
$employee_object->position = "Software Engineer"; 
$employee_object->address = "53, nth street, city"; 
$employee_object->status = "Best"; 
  
// The object is converted into array  
// using type casting 
$employee_array = (array) $employee_object; 
  
// Display the result in array 
print_r($employee_array); 
?> 

Output:

Array
(
    [name] => John Doe
    [position] => Software Engineer
    [address] => 53, nth street, city
    [status] => Best
)

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