The ClassMapAutoloader

The ClassMapAutoloader is designed with performance in mind. Instead of doing a filesystem lookup, it checks the class against an in-memory classmap, loading the file associated with that class on a match. This avoids unnecessary filesystem operations, and can also ensure the autoloader "plays nice" with opcode caches and PHP's realpath cache.

Quick Start

The first step is to create a class map file in form of a PHP file returning an associative array that represents the class map. In this example, the class map is located at Some/Directory/autoload_classmap.php.

Within your code, instantiate the ClassMapAutoloader, and provide it the location of the map.

// This example assumes the ClassMapAutoloader is autoloadable.
use Zend\Loader\ClassMapAutoloader;

$loader = new ClassMapAutoloader();

// Register the class map:
$loader->registerAutoloadMap('Some/Directory/autoload_classmap.php');

// Register with spl_autoload:
$loader->register();

At this point, you may now use any classes referenced in your class map.

Configuration Options

The ClassMapAutoloader expects an array of options, where each option is either a filename referencing a class map, or an associative array of class name/filename pairs.

As an example:

// Configuration defining both a file-based class map, and an array map
$config = [
    __DIR__ . '/library/autoloader_classmap.php', // file-based class map
    [                                             // array class map
        'Application\Bootstrap' => __DIR__ . '/application/Bootstrap.php',
        'Test\Bootstrap'        => __DIR__ . '/tests/Bootstrap.php',
    ],
];

Available Methods

__construct

__construct(array|Traversable $options = null) : void

Initialize and configure the object __construct($options = null); $options will be passed to setOptions().

setOptions

setOptions(array|Traversable $options) : void

Configures the state of the autoloader, including registering class maps. $options will be passed to registerAutoloadMaps().

registerAutoloadMap

registerAutoloadMap(string|array $map) : void

Registers a class map with the autoloader. $map may be either a string referencing a PHP script that returns a class map, or an array defining a class map.

More than one class map may be registered; each will be merged with the previous, meaning it's possible for a later class map to overwrite entries from a previously registered map.

registerAutoloadMaps

registerAutoloadMaps(array|Traversable $maps) : void

Register multiple class maps with the autoloader, iterating over $maps and passing each value to registerAutoloadMap().

getAutoloadMap

getAutoloadMap() : array

Retrieves the current class map as an associative array.

autoload

autoload(string $class) : false|string

Attempts to load the class specified. Returns a boolean false on failure, or a string indicating the class loaded on success.

register

register() : void

Registers the autoload() method of the current instance with spl_autoload_register().

Examples

Using configuration to seed ClassMapAutoloader

You can use configuration to seed a ClassMapAutoloader; values might come from a configuration file, a cache, or even a PHP array. The following is an example of a PHP array that could be used to configure the autoloader:

// Configuration defining both a file-based class map, and an array map
$config = [
    APPLICATION_PATH . '/../library/autoloader_classmap.php', // file-based class map
    [                                                         // array class map
        'Application\Bootstrap' => APPLICATION_PATH . '/Bootstrap.php',
        'Test\Bootstrap'        => APPLICATION_PATH . '/../tests/Bootstrap.php',
    ],
];

Once you have your configuration, you can pass it either to the constructor of the ClassMapAutoloader, to its setOptions() method, or to registerAutoloadMaps().

use Zend\Loader\ClassMapAutoloader;

/* The following are all equivalent */

// To the constructor:
$loader = new ClassMapAutoloader($config);

// To setOptions():
$loader = new ClassMapAutoloader();
$loader->setOptions($config);

// To registerAutoloadMaps():
$loader = new ClassMapAutoloader();
$loader->registerAutoloadMaps($config);