I have a question regarding static function in php.
let's assume that I have a class
class test {
public function sayHi() {
echo 'hi';
}
}
if I do test::sayHi(); it works without a problem.
class test {
public static function sayHi() {
echo 'hi';
}
}
test::sayHi(); works as well.
What are the differences between first class and second class?
What is special about a static function?
In the first class, sayHi() is actually an instance method which you are calling as a static method and you get away with it because sayHi() never refers to $this.
Static functions are associated with the class, not an instance of the class. As such, $this is not available from a static context ($this isn't pointing to any object).
Simply, static functions function independently of the class where they belong.
$this means, this is an object of this class. It does not apply to static functions.
class test {
public function sayHi($hi = "Hi") {
$this->hi = $hi;
return $this->hi;
}
}
class test1 {
public static function sayHi($hi) {
$hi = "Hi";
return $hi;
}
}
// Test
$mytest = new test();
print $mytest->sayHi('hello'); // returns 'hello'
print test1::sayHi('hello'); // returns 'Hi'
Entire difference is, you don't get $this supplied inside the static function. If you try to use $this, you'll get a Fatal error: Using $this when not in object context.
Well, okay, one other difference: an E_STRICT warning is generated by your first example.
$this refers to the current object. In a static function, there is no current object; the function exists on the class without need for or reference to an object instance of that class.In a nutshell, you don't have the object as $this in the second case, as the static method is a function/method of the class not the object instance.
After trying examples (PHP 5.3.5), I found that in both cases of defining functions you can't use $this operator to work on class functions. So I couldn't find a difference in them yet. :(
