Implicit conversion to string instead of getting “Object ID #..”

Question

I've moved to a new webhost were we have php 5.1 instead of 5.2 that I've been using until now. I still haven't figured out if it's a php version or configuration issue.

Right now most (or all) of the classes that have __toString functions convert to "Object ID #" (like in php4) but before they all returned the correct values.

How can I fix this?

Answer 1

Apparently prior to PHP 5.2 the __toString method was only "magically" called in certain circumstances (e.g. echo() and print()). So if you are currently using __toString() in a "magical" way outside of direct output functions it will not work as expected.

Source:

It is worth noting that before PHP 5.2.0 the __toString method was only called when it was directly combined with echo() or print(). Since PHP 5.2.0, it is called in any string context (e.g. in printf() with %s modifier) but not in other types contexts (e.g. with %d modifier). Since PHP 5.2.0, converting objects without __toString method to string would cause E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR.

Answer 2

Some host companies (like 1and1) run both PHP 4.x and 5.x and default to 4.x. You may need to have an .htaccess file that ensures you are using the correct version of PHP.

Also, the magic __toString() is slightly different from version 5.2+ according to the documentation:

It is worth noting that before PHP 5.2.0 the __toString method was only called when it was directly combined with echo() or print(). Since PHP 5.2.0, it is called in any string context (e.g. in printf() with %s modifier) but not in other types contexts (e.g. with %d modifier). Since PHP 5.2.0, converting objects without __toString method to string would cause E_RECOVERABLE_ERROR.

So, it may depend on how you are calling the output.