Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=49542&edit=1
ID: 49542
Comment by: nikic@php.net
Reported by: mjs at beebo dot org
Summary: __callStatic() only invoked if instance method does
not exist
Status: Not a bug
Type: Bug
Package: Class/Object related
Operating System: Ubuntu
PHP Version: 5.3.0
Block user comment: N
Private report: N
New Comment:
Guys, do we need to go through this again? Sure, it feels nice to write a rant about how all PHP
devs are stupid and stuff, but it doesn't help anyone.
Also, don't interpret too much into a simple response. "Not a bug" does not mean
"you're an idiot". I don't know how you came to that conclusion.
As already pointed out, this behavior is by-design, so yes, it is not a bug - at least for some
definitions of "bug" (don't forget that any sufficiently advanced bug is
indistinguishable from a feature).
PHP allows calling non-static methods statically. Doing so is considered bad practice nowadays, but
this behavior was kept around from PHP 4 times. When considering something, please don't forget
that things that made sense a few years ago don't necessarily make sense now. Heck, from a
modern point of view static methods shouldn't exist *at all*, because they promote bad design
(and use of __callStatic in particular so). But, as already said, the feature is older than today.
On a tangentially related note, there is a proposal for PHP 5.5 to deprecate calls with incompatible
context, which has been one of the major WTF moments with calling instance methods statically (see
https://wiki.php.net/rfc/incompat_ctx). This
would be the first step in the right way.
So, if care about this design issue that much, then the best way to go would be to write an RFC with
a detailed assessment of the current situation, how the issue can be resolved, how much it would
impact code, what an appropriate migration strategy could be, etc, etc.
Thanks.
Previous Comments:
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[2012-08-14 20:37:10] stan at eproject-inc dot com
Wow. Not a bug? This is a terrible design decision, to say that invoking an
instance method from a non-instance context is intentional. That this is even a
question says volumes.
I've been a user and supporter of the language for several years now, and it's
really sad to see something like this. This is the kind of design philosophy
that gives PHP a bad rap for being difficult to work in.
It's one thing to say "Yes, we have an octopus in our living room. I know, I
know, it's utterly stupid and doesn't make sense, but we're otherwise occupied
right now." It's another thing to say, "Yes, we have an octopus in the living
room. What? No, you're the idiot."
Absurd.
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[2012-08-14 18:13:47] loren at kanjoya dot com
Well, if it is not a bug, then it is a very poor and unfortunate language design
decision.
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[2011-06-09 23:44:40] felipe@php.net
Not a bug, you need to declare the method 'bar' as static.
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[2010-10-15 03:50:12] matt dot lubner at gmail dot com
I should have also mentioned that calling an instance method in a static context
does not generate an error, unless the called method has any references to $this
(which of course is not in scope), in which case a fatal error occurs. This can
be a little tricky to track down, and so would be preferable if instance methods
were simply not in scope for static contexts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2010-10-15 03:40:41] matt dot lubner at gmail dot com
With PHP 5.3.2, if the instance method bar() is *not* public, and __callStatic()
*is*, __callStatic() will be invoked, because bar() won't be in scope.
Unfortunately, this seems like a horribly hacked work-around. Ideally, public
instance methods should not be in scope from a static context, so __callStatic()
will be called instead.
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