Bug #60214 [NEW]: can't instantiate using class constant

From: Operating system: 2.6.34-gentoo-r6 GNU/Linux PHP version: 5.3SVN-2011-11-03 (snap) Package: Scripting Engine problem Bug Type: Bug Bug description:can't instantiate using class constant Description: ------------ I wanted to write something like this inside a method. DEFAULT_CLASS is a string containing a name of an existing class. The problem is that there is no way to instantiate an object using a class constant by using "new self::CLASS_CONSTANT"; This will generate a syntax error. I know that the workaround is to store the value of the class constant into a variable, but couldn't this be improved somehow? Test script: --------------- <?php class default_class { function do_nothing() { } } class TheParent { const DEFAULT_CLASS="default_class"; public function init() { $c=new self::DEFAULT_CLASS; } } Expected result: ---------------- I would expect to have an object instantiated with the class stored in the DEFAULT_CLASS constant. Actual result: -------------- Produces a syntax error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING, expecting T_VARIABLE or '$' in /some_path/test.php on line 14 -- Edit bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=60214&edit=1 -- Try a snapshot (PHP 5.4): https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=trysnapshot54 Try a snapshot (PHP 5.3): https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=trysnapshot53 Try a snapshot (trunk): https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=trysnapshottrunk Fixed in SVN: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=fixed Fixed in SVN and need be documented: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=needdocs Fixed in release: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=alreadyfixed Need backtrace: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=needtrace Need Reproduce Script: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=needscript Try newer version: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=oldversion Not developer issue: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=support Expected behavior: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=notwrong Not enough info: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=notenoughinfo Submitted twice: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=submittedtwice register_globals: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=globals PHP 4 support discontinued: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=php4 Daylight Savings: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=dst IIS Stability: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=isapi Install GNU Sed: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=gnused Floating point limitations: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=float No Zend Extensions: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=nozend MySQL Configuration Error: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=60214&r=mysqlcfg