__autoloader in php

In PHP, __autoload is a special function that is automatically called by the interpreter whenever an undefined class is encountered. This function allows you to implement your own autoloading logic without the need for explicit include or require statements.

However, the use of __autoload has been discouraged since PHP 7.2 and is now considered deprecated as of PHP 8.0. Instead, you should use the spl_autoload_register function to register one or more autoloading functions.

Here is an example of how to use __autoload:

function __autoload($class_name) {
    include $class_name . '.php';
}

$obj = new MyClass(); // the interpreter will call __autoload('MyClass') to load the class

In this example, the __autoload function is defined to include the file containing the class definition whenever an undefined class is encountered. When the code tries to create a new instance of the MyClass class, the interpreter will call the __autoload function with the name of the class as a parameter.

It is important to note that if you register an autoloading function using spl_autoload_register, it will replace any existing __autoload function. Therefore, it is recommended to use spl_autoload_register instead of __autoload to avoid conflicts with other autoloaders.