How can you access the properties of a class in PHP?

In PHP, the preferred method to access properties of a class instance is through the use of the -> operator. This operator is specifically designed for object-oriented programming in PHP, enabling you to access both properties and methods of instantiated objects.

When you create an object from a class, you can use the -> operator followed by the property name to retrieve or modify the value of that property. This allows you to interact with the object's state directly. For example, if you have a class named Car with a property color, you would access it like this:

$myCar = new Car();
echo $myCar->color; // retrieves the value of the color property
$myCar->color = 'red'; // sets the color property to 'red'

Understanding how to use the -> operator is fundamental when working with classes in PHP, and it emphasizes the language's object-oriented features. The other methods listed do not serve the same purpose in the context of class property access. The scope resolution operator (::) is used for static properties or methods, while the array operator ([]) is for accessing elements in an array, and the dot operator is not used in PHP for property access at all.