Static Methods In PHP
One of the key features of PHP is its ability to support static methods. In this article, we will delve into what PHP static methods are and how they work in Oops.
We will also examine some examples that will demonstrate how they can be implemented in different situations.
PHP Static Methods – what are they?
Php static method is a method that is associated with a class rather than an instance of the class. This means that you can call a static method directly on the class, without having to instantiate an object of that class.
The syntax for calling a static method is similar to that of calling a regular method, except that you use the class name instead of an object variable.
There are a number of situations in which static methods could be useful, such as when a user needs to do some kind of action on a class without first creating an object or when they want to create utility methods that don’t depend on any specific instance of the class.
Define Static Methods In PHP
In order to define static methods, the static keyword should be used.
Rather than being methods that belong to instances of the class, static methods belong to the actual class itself.
Due to this, they can be called directly from the class itself, without having to create an object first, which will save time.
Syntax
<?php
class ClassName
{
public static function staticMethod()
{
echo "mrexamples.com";
}
}
?>A static method can be accessed by using the class name, a double colon (::), and the name of the method:
Syntax
ClassName::staticMethod();
Let’s look at an example to understand the syntax:
Example:
Example Explained
Above example defines a class called greeting that has a single static method called morning(). The morning() method simply echoes the string “Good Morning”.
To call the morning() method, the code uses the class name greeting followed by the :: operator and the method name morning(), like this: greeting::morning();
Because morning() is a static method, it belongs to the greeting class itself rather than to any instance of the class. This means that we can call the method directly on the class, without needing to create an object first.
When the code is executed, it will output the string “Good Morning“.
PHP Static Methods Advantages
Static methods offer several advantages over regular methods in PHP:
- PHP Static methods can be called directly on the class, which means that you don’t have to create an object of that class to use the method. This can be useful in situations where you need to call a method frequently but don’t want to incur the overhead of object instantiation.
- PHP Static methods can be called using the double colon (::) notation, which is concise and easy to read. This can make your code more readable and maintainable.
- PHP Static methods can access static variables, which are shared across all instances of the class. This means that you can use static methods to manipulate shared state, such as a global counter or a cache.
- Php Static methods can be used to namespace related functionality within a class. This can help to organize your code and make it more modular.
By using the self keyword, as well as the double colon (::):, you can gain access to a static method from another method in the same class:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example Explanation
This example defines two classes, Developer and Developer2. Developer has a single static method called skillSet() that echoes the string “I am a PHP Developer”.
Developer2 extends Developer and has a public method called message() that calls the skillSet() method of the Developer class using the Developer::skillSet() syntax.
Developer2 also has a public property called developer1 that is initialized in the constructor to the result of calling the skillSet() method on the parent class using the parent::skillSet() syntax.
Finally, the code creates an instance of the Developer2 class and accesses the developer1 property using the $dev2->developer1 syntax. The value of developer1 is the string “I am a PHP Developer”, which was assigned in the constructor using the parent::skillSet() method.
When to Use PHP Static Methods
Static methods are useful in a variety of situations, but they are not always the best choice.
Here are some scenarios where you might want to consider using Php static methods:
- If you have a set of functions that don’t rely on any object state, you can define them as static methods within a class. This can help to organize your code and make it more modular.
- If you have a class that generates instances of other classes, you can define a static method within that class to create the instances. This can make your code more readable and maintainable.
- If you have a set of functions that provide helper functionality for a class, you can define them as static methods within that class. This can help to keep related functionality together and make it easier to understand.
