abstract class and the use of the static keyword

Question

Sorry if the title looks odd, I don't know how to call it. I was inspecting a framework and I wonder how this works?

<?php
//namespace and use

abstract class Model {
    //...
    public function __call($method,$params){
        //some stuff
        return static::$$method;
    }
}

It's an abstract class, so to what class will static refer to? (considering it's not extending anything) I tried to var_dump method but that method is not in that class. And why does it have a double dollar sign.

EDIT: Oh it will call the __callStatic method. I need pills.

What you should be Googling is ["PHP late static bindings"](http://www.google.com/search?q=php+late+static+bindings) - and I'll admit it's not obvious unless you already know. To speed things up, here's where that will land you: http://php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.late-static-bindings.php — DaveRandom, Jul 11 '12 at 21:05
The $$ is the PHP syntax for creating variable variables. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4179489/double-dollar-sign-php . Usually pretty evil. — madflow, Jul 11 '12 at 21:17

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 11 '12 at 21:07

3

It's called "late static binding" and unlike self, which always refers to the context ("class"), where it is defined, it refers always to the context it is called on.

answered Jul 11 '12 at 21:07

KingCrunch

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abstract class and the use of the static keyword

1 Answers1