SPL AppendIterator

Contents

1. Abstract
2. Reflection
3. Appending Arrays
4. Filtering Multiple Arrays

Abstract

The SPL AppendIterator provides a method of iterating over multiple arrays at the same time. This can be very useful when aggregating data from different sources, such as XML or RSS feeds or even multiple database sources. The flexibility and efficiency of the whole SPL suite of tools is a the disposal of the AppendIterator making manipulating data in multiple objects fast and simple with a minimum of code.

Reflection

Using the Reflection API the internals of the AppendIterator are easy to see.

Class [   class AppendIterator extends IteratorIterator implements OuterIterator, Traversable, Iterator ] {

  - Constants [0] {
  }

  - Static properties [0] {
  }

  - Static methods [0] {
  }

  - Properties [0] {
  }

  - Methods [10] {
    Method [  public method __construct ] {
    }

    Method [  public method append ] {
      - Parameters [1] {
        Parameter #0 [  Iterator $iterator ]
      }
    }

    Method [  public method rewind ] {
    }

    Method [  public method valid ] {
    }

    Method [  public method key ] {
    }

    Method [  public method current ] {
    }

    Method [  public method next ] {
    }

    Method [  public method getInnerIterator ] {
    }

    Method [  public method getIteratorIndex ] {
    }

    Method [  public method getArrayIterator ] {
    }

  }

}

Appending Arrays

As seen from the reflection output above, the AppendIterator has much the same API as other iterator classes. The primary method that does the work however, is the append() method. which the AppendIterator uses append an iterator object to an aggregated iterator. To append to the AppendIterator, a new AppendIterator object is created and iterator objects added to it as shown here.

The order in which the each array is traversed is apparent when the keys are displayed also. Each array is iterated over in order they were appended to the AppendIterator.

The greatest benifit of using the AppendIterator is that any of the SPL Iterator suite can now be used in conjunction with the iterator object.

Filtering Mulitple Arrays

In the second array, a kiwi is present. The kiwi is a New Zealand bird and not part of the Australian fauna. The offending critter can be filtered out with the SPL FilterIterator.

And from the above code, the results look like this:

This time when the foreach loop is run, the offending kiwi has been filtered out of the array. Any of the classes, or interfaces are available when traversing mulitple arrays, making for quick and easy aggregation an manipulation of data in an efficient manner.