Zend_Loader include doesn't throw exception - zend-framework

Question

I am finding that when Zend tries to auto load a file which doesn't exist, it throws an error which I cannot catch in a try/catch block. This happens when I use class_exists too. I have fixed the problem by hacking zend:
if ($once) {
if (!#include_once ($filename)) {
throw new Exception("Failed to include $filename");
}
// include_once $filename;
}
else {
if (!#include ($filename)) {
throw new Exception("Failed to include $filename");
}
// include $filename;
}
The commented out lines are zend's originals. Now I can catch the exception thrown when a file cannot be included. Can anybody suggest a cleaner way to do this which doesn't involve hacking zend?
I am on Zend version 1.11.10, and the code in question is Zend_Loader line 146.
Thanks.

Answer 1

instead of using include or include_once try using Zend_Loader::loadClass()
Here is the API: Zend_Loader::loadClass($class, $dirs)
An example:
Zend_Loader::loadClass('Container_Tree',
array(
'/home/production/mylib',
'/home/production/myapp'
)
);
Now the blurb on how it works:
The string specifying the class is converted to a relative path by
substituting underscores with directory separators for your OS, and
appending '.php'. In the example above, *'Container_Tree'* becomes
'Container\Tree.php' on Windows.
If $dirs is a string or an array, *Zend_Loader::loadClass()* searches
the directories in the order supplied. The first matching file is
loaded. If the file does not exist in the specified $dirs, then the
include_path for the PHP environment is searched.
If the file is not found or the class does not exist after the load,
*Zend_Loader::loadClass()* throws a Zend_Exception.
This should allow you to use a try/catch block for any non-existent classes. Zend_Loader::loadFile() also has similar functionality.

Answer 2

Don't try and autoload classes that don't exist. If for some reason the class you're trying to autoload may or may not be there, wrap that part of code with a class_exists() call.
I can't think of any reason why you would want class_exists() to throw an exception on failure since it's sole purpose is to allow you to check for the existence of classes.