The Private Class Data pattern in PHP is a design pattern that focuses on encapsulating the data of a class by making it private and providing controlled access to that data through public methods. This helps in maintaining the integrity of the class and promoting encapsulation. The Private Class Data pattern is implemented using private properties and public getter and setter methods.
Key Components:
- Private Properties: These are the class variables that store the internal data. They are declared as private to restrict direct access from outside the class.
- Public Getter Methods: These methods provide read-only access to private properties. They return the values of the private properties.
- Public Setter Methods: These methods allow modification of the private properties, often including validation or additional logic to ensure the integrity of the data.
An example of this pattern is:
