Use variable variables:
function eat_fruit($fruit) { print "chewing $fruit."; } $function = 'eat_fruit'; $fruit = 'kiwi'; $function($fruit); // calls eat_fruit( )
If you have multiple possibilities to call, use an associative array of function names:
$dispatch = array( 'add' => 'do_add', 'commit' => 'do_commit', 'checkout' => 'do_checkout', 'update' => 'do_update' ); $cmd = (isset($_REQUEST['command']) ? $_REQUEST['command'] : ''); if (array_key_exists($cmd, $dispatch)) { $function = $dispatch[$cmd]; $function(); // call function } else { error_log("Unknown command $cmd"); }
This code takes the command name from a request and executes that function. Note the check to see that the command is in a list of acceptable command. This prevents your code from calling whatever function was passed in from a request, such as phpinfo( ) . This makes your code more secure and allows you to easily log errors.
Another advantage is that you can map multiple commands to the same function, so you can have a long and a short name:
$dispatch = array( 'add' => 'do_add', 'commit' => 'do_commit', 'ci' => 'do_commit', 'checkout' => 'do_checkout', 'co' => 'do_checkout', 'update' => 'do_update', 'up' => 'do_update' );
Recipe 5.5 for more on variable variables.
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