How to Get an Object’s Parent Class Name Using get_class? Step-by-Step Guide with Examples

<span><span><span class="hljs-meta">&lt;?php</span></span><span>
</span><span><span class="hljs-comment">// Introduction section (unrelated to the main topic)</span></span><span>
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-string">"This is a sample introduction text. It can be any explanatory content or program output.&lt;br&gt;"</span></span><span>;
</span><span><span class="hljs-keyword">echo</span></span><span> </span><span><span class="hljs-string">"The following horizontal line separates the introduction from the main content.&lt;hr&gt;"</span></span><span>;
</span><span><span class="hljs-meta">?&gt;</span></span><span>
<p></span><?php<br>
// Main content starts<br>
/*<br>
Title: How to Get an Object’s Parent Class Name Using get_class? Step-by-Step Guide with Examples</p>
<p>In PHP development, we often need to determine the class or parent class of an object for type checking, dynamic method calls, or debugging. This article explains in detail how to use PHP's get_class function and related methods to obtain an object’s parent class name, with examples to aid understanding.<br>
*/</p>
<p>class Animal {<br>
public function makeSound() {<br>
return "Some generic sound";<br>
}<br>
}</p>
<p>class Dog extends Animal {<br>
public function makeSound() {<br>
return "Bark";<br>
}<br>
}</p>
<p>// Create a Dog object<br>
$dog = new Dog();</p>
<p>// Step 1: Get the class name of the object<br>
$className = get_class($dog);<br>
echo "Object’s class name: " . $className . "<br>"; // Outputs: Dog</p>
<p>// Step 2: Get the parent class name of the object<br>
$parentClassName = get_parent_class($dog);<br>
echo "Parent class name: " . $parentClassName . "<br>"; // Outputs: Animal</p>
<p>// Step 3: Use parent class information with conditional logic<br>
if ($parentClassName === 'Animal') {<br>
echo "This object is a subclass of Animal and can call methods defined in Animal.<br>";<br>
}</p>
<p>// Step 4: Further usage — get parent class methods via reflection<br>
if ($parentClassName) {<br>
$methods = get_class_methods($parentClassName);<br>
echo "Parent class method list: <br>";<br>
echo "<ul>";<br>
foreach ($methods as $method) {<br>
echo "<li>" . </span>$method . </span>"</li>";<br>
}<br>
echo "</ul>"<span>;<br>
}</p>
<p><span class="hljs-comment">/*<br>
Summary:</p>
<ol>
<li>
<p>get_class() retrieves the current class name of an object.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>get_parent_class() gets the direct parent class name; returns false if none exists.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>Using the parent class name, you can further use PHP reflection functions (like get_class_methods) to get parent class methods.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>This approach is useful for debugging, dynamic method calls, and building object-oriented tools or frameworks.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Notes:</p>
<ul data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">
<li>
<p>get_parent_class() only returns the direct parent, not grandparents or higher-level ancestors.</p>
</li>
<li data-is-last-node="">
<p data-is-last-node="">To check if an object inherits from a specific class, you can also use <code>is_a($object, 'ClassName')