set_error_handler function not calling autoload

Question

I have the set_error_handler() function set to call a function when there is an error.

In that function I have my own implementation of the exception class:

function acs_error_handler($errno, $errstr, $errfile, $errline) {    
    throw new acs_exception($errstr, $errno);     
}

This gives me the following error:

Fatal error: Class 'acs_exception' not found

For some reason, this function does not call my autoload function which I have set up using:

spl_autoload_register('__autoload');

If I add the line:

__autoload('acs_exception');

before calling the class in the error function it all works.

My question is: Shouldn't the __autoload() function fire when I call the acs_exception class in the error trigger function??

Answer 1

Here's a related PHP bug report.

Your error is triggered at compile-time, which disables autoload (and spl_autoload at the same time).

Won't be fixed for PHP5.3 as it may cause lots of other problems.