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PHP : Language Reference : Classes and Objects (PHP 5) : Late Static Bindings

Late Static Bindings

As of PHP 5.3.0, PHP implements a feature called late static bindings which can be used to reference the called class in a context of static inheritance.

This feature was named "late static bindings" with an internal perspective in mind. "Late binding" comes from the fact that static:: will no longer be resolved using the class where the method is defined but it will rather be computed using runtime information. It was also called a "static binding" as it can be used for (but is not limited to) static method calls.

Limitations of self::

Static references to the current class like self:: or __CLASS__ are resolved using the class in which the function belongs, as in where it was defined:

Example 10.42. self:: usage

<?php
class A {
   public static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__;
   }
   public static function
test() {
       
self::who();      
   }  
}  

class
B extends A {      
   public static function
who() {
        echo
__CLASS__;
   }  
}  

B::test();
?>

The above example will output:

A


Late Static Bindings' usage

Late static bindings tries to solve that limitation by introducing a keyword that references the class that was initially called at runtime. Basically, a keyword that would allow you to reference B from test() in the previous example. It was decided not to introduce a new keyword but rather use static that was already reserved.

Example 10.43. static:: simple usage

<?php
class A {
   public static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__;
   }
   public static function
test() {
       static::
who(); // Here comes Late Static Bindings    
   
}  
}  

class
B extends A {      
   public static function
who() {
        echo
__CLASS__;
   }  
}  

B::test();
?>

The above example will output:

B


Note:

static:: does not work like $this for static methods! $this-> follows the rules of inheritance while static:: doesn't. This difference is detailed later on this manual page.

Example 10.44. static:: usage in a non-static context

<?php
class TestChild extends TestParent {
   public function
__construct() {
       static::
who();
   }

   public function
test() {
       
$o = new TestParent();
   }

   public static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__."\n";
   }
}

class
TestParent {
   public function
__construct() {
       static::
who();
   }

   public static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__."\n";
   }
}
$o = new TestChild;
$o->test();

?>

The above example will output:

TestChild
TestParent


Note:

Late static bindings' reslution will stop at a fully resolved static call with no fallback.

Example 10.45. Fully resolved static calls

<?php
class A {
   public static function
foo() {
       static::
who();
   }
       
   public static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__."\n";
   }
}

class
B extends A {
   public static function
test() {
       
A::foo();
   }

   public static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__."\n";
   }
}

B::test();
?>

The above example will output:

A


Edge cases

There are lots of different ways to trigger a method call in PHP, like callbacks or magic methods. As late static bindings base their resolution on runtime information, it might give unexpected results in so-called edge cases.

Example 10.46. Late static bindings inside magic methods

<?php
class A {

  protected static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__."\n";
  }

  public function
__get($var) {
      return static::
who();
  }
}

class
B extends A {

  protected static function
who() {
       echo
__CLASS__."\n";
  }
}

$b = new B;
$b->foo;
?>

The above example will output:

B


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Late Static Bindings
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