Dynamic constants in PHP?

Question

Is there a way to create a class\'s constants dynamically? I know this sounds a bit odd but let me explain what I\'m trying to do:

• I have a Enum class who\'s attri

Answer 1

Wrap your "enum" values in a singleton and implement the (non-static) magic __get method:

enum_values = array( //fetch from somewhere
        'one' => 'two',
        'buckle' => 'my shoe!',
    );
  }

  function __get($name) {
    return $this->enum_values[$name]; //or throw Exception?
  }

  public static function values() {
    return self::singleton()->enum_values; //warning... mutable!
  }
}

For bonus points, create a (non-OO) function that returns the singleton:

function DynamicEnums() {
    return DynamicEnums::singleton();
}

Consumers of "DynamicEnums" would look like:

echo DynamicEnums::singleton()->one;
echo DynamicEnums()->one;            //can you feel the magic?
print_r(DynamicEnums::values());

[edit] More enum-like.