What is a namespace in PHP

A namespace in PHP is a way to encapsulate items such as classes, interfaces, functions, and constants. This feature allows you to group related code and prevent naming conflicts, especially when integrating libraries or modules from different sources.

Namespaces are defined using the `namespace` keyword, and they can also be hierarchical. For instance, `namespace MyProject\SubNamespace` allows for better organization of code and makes it easier to maintain large applications.

Here is an example of how to define and use namespaces in PHP:

<?php namespace MyProject; class MyClass { public function sayHello() { return "Hello from MyProject\\MyClass"; } } namespace MyProject\SubNamespace; class MySubClass { public function sayHello() { return "Hello from MyProject\\SubNamespace\\MySubClass"; } } // Usage $obj1 = new \MyProject\MyClass(); echo $obj1->sayHello(); // Hello from MyProject\MyClass $obj2 = new \MyProject\SubNamespace\MySubClass(); echo $obj2->sayHello(); // Hello from MyProject\SubNamespace\MySubClass ?>

PHP namespace coding structure prevent naming conflicts encapsulation