Bug #60214 [Opn->Bgs]: can't instantiate using class constant

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=60214&edit=1 ID: 60214 Updated by: felipe@php.net Reported by: gabriel at totoliciu dot ro Summary: can't instantiate using class constant -Status: Open +Status: Bogus Type: Bug Package: Scripting Engine problem Operating System: 2.6.34-gentoo-r6 GNU/Linux PHP Version: 5.3SVN-2011-11-03 (snap) Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: Thank you for taking the time to write to us, but this is not a bug. Please double-check the documentation available at http://www.php.net/manual/ and the instructions on how to report a bug at http://bugs.php.net/how-to-report.php At least currently it's not even intended to work. Use the workaround instead. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2011-11-03 20:27:01] anon at anon dot anon As a simple workaround you can do: $c = self::DEFAULT_CLASS; $c = new $c(); ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2011-11-03 17:36:28] gabriel at totoliciu dot ro I forgot to mention that you have to run Parent::init(); ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2011-11-03 17:34:59] gabriel at totoliciu dot ro 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 this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=60214&edit=1