Re: late static binding (please break BC?)

Bart de Boer wrote:

I thought late static binding had something to do with accessing static _variables_ in child classes. You're currently solving that problem by defining a static function getTableName() in the child class. But I think that isn't very efficient when you're dealing with complex objects and/or arrays which would need to be accessed frequently. If it were possible your code example could be solved as: <?php class Data { static function findRange() { if (!child::$tableName) throw new Exception('WTF'); else return child::$tableName; } } class Prod { static $tableName = 'PRODS'; } ?> But it seems this feature request belongs in a different thread. :) Late static binding can also be used to access static properties, of course. The same class resolution mechanism is used by foo::$member and foo::method(); so the keyword would apply to both.

Same with magic syntax like $a = new self();

Now I understand why this:: might be confusing since it is meant for objects. self:: would mean we can't access stuff in the current class anymore. What about derived:: or extended:: ?

It's always dangerous to introduce a new keyword, as it can/will break BC (i.e what if somebody has defined a function derived(), the parser would choke on that). I'm personally fine with static, even if it may eventually introduce some confusion. Regards -- Etienne Kneuss http://www.colder.ch Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction. -- Pascal