Obtaining Class Name from Extended PHP Class Static Call

In object-oriented programming, classes often extend base classes to inherit and extend their functionality. A common scenario involves the need to obtain the class name from a static method call in an extended class, despite the fact that CLASS always returns the name of the defining class.

Problem: Inaccessibility of Class Name in Parent Static Methods

Consider a scenario with two classes, Action and MyAction, where MyAction extends Action. Action defines a static method, n(), which is inaccessible via the CLASS constant within parent static methods, resulting in the CLASS value being set to "Action" regardless of the calling class.

Solutions:

1. Late Static Bindings (PHP 5.3 ):

Late static bindings allow you to determine the target class of a static method call at runtime rather than when the method is defined. This is achieved using the get_called_class() function, which returns the name of the class in which the static method was called.

For instance:

class Action {
    public static function n() {
        return get_called_class();
    }
}

class MyAction extends Action {

}

echo MyAction::n(); // Outputs "MyAction"

2. Using get_class($this) (Non-Static Methods Only):

If the method in question is not static, you can use get_class($this) to obtain the class name from which the method was called.

For example:

class Action {
    public function n() {
        echo get_class($this);
    }
}

class MyAction extends Action {

}

$foo = new MyAction;
$foo->n(); // Outputs "MyAction"

Conclusion:

Both late static bindings and get_class($this) offer solutions to retrieve the class name from a static method call in an extended class. Late static bindings are preferable for static methods, while get_class($this) is useful for non-static methods.