Selectors class object -- how to get string property?

[hellomoto]

https://processwire.com/api/ref/selectors/

Is it not possible to access the `string` property? `$selectors->count` works, and $selectors->getArray() works for items. How is the string accessed? I've tried ->getProperty('string'), and I don't remember what else...

The class has a selectorStr property but it's protected?

Edited October 26, 2024 by hellomoto

[hellomoto]

Sorry, it's $selectors->__toString()

[TomPich]

In the Selectors class definition, Ryan wrote that the protected property "selectorStr" there only for debugging.
I tried with $selectors->get("selectorStr") and it doesn’t work neither.
So if I really need that string (and couldn’t store it earlier in the process), I would create a class that extends Selectors an allow selectorStr exposure...

[hellomoto]

On 10/27/2024 at 11:04 AM, TomPich said:

In the Selectors class definition, Ryan wrote that the protected property "selectorStr" there only for debugging.
I tried with $selectors->get("selectorStr") and it doesn’t work neither.
So if I really need that string (and couldn’t store it earlier in the process), I would create a class that extends Selectors an allow selectorStr exposure...

Okay thanks but why not just access via ->__toString()?

[TomPich]

You are right... 😊
Actually, _toString() is not supposed be called explicitly. It’s called when you do "echo $selectors".
So when you do "echo $selectors", you get the string you want. But it’s not returned, it’s just displayed.
Maybe you can do ob_start() and ob_get_clean() to capture the string you want in a variable.