Check if an object has changed

Question

Is there a more native way (e.x. a built-in function) with less userland code to check if an objects property values have changed instead of using one of those methods:

Answer 1

There is no built-in method, I'm afraid. The shadow copy approach is the best way.

A simpler way, if you have control over the class, is to add a modified variable:

$this->modified = false;

When I modify the object in any way, I simply use

$obj->modified = true;

This way I can later check

if($obj->modified){ // Do Something

to check if it was modified. Just remember to unset($obj->modified) before saving content in a database.