What is method overloading in PHP and why does it not work as expected in versions like PHP 7.0.9?

Method overloading in PHP refers to the ability to define multiple methods with the same name but different parameters in a class. However, PHP does not support method overloading natively. In versions like PHP 7.0.9, method overloading does not work as expected because PHP does not allow multiple methods with the same name but different parameters. To achieve similar functionality, you can use variable-length argument lists (func_get_args() or func_num_args()) or default parameter values. 

class MyClass {
    public function myMethod() {
        $args = func_get_args();
        
        if(count($args) == 1) {
            // Method with one parameter
            echo "One parameter method called with value: " . $args[0];
        } else if(count($args) == 2) {
            // Method with two parameters
            echo "Two parameters method called with values: " . $args[0] . " and " . $args[1];
        }
    }
}

$obj = new MyClass();
$obj->myMethod(10);
$obj->myMethod(20, 30);

Keywords

method overloading PHP 7.0.9 function overloading polymorphism backward compatibility

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