PHP – The $this Keyword

The $this keyword refers to the current object, and is only available inside methods.

Look at the following example:

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
}
$apple = new Fruit();
?>

So, where can we change the value of the $name property? There are two ways:

1. Inside the class (by adding a set_name() method and use $this):

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
  function set_name($name) {
    $this->name = $name;
  }
}
$apple = new Fruit();
$apple->set_name("Apple");

echo $apple->name;
?>

2. Outside the class (by directly changing the property value):

<?php
class Fruit {
  public $name;
}
$apple = new Fruit();
$apple->name = "Apple";

echo $apple->name;
?>