Accessing static method of class object

Question

I'm having a very strange syntax error inside of a class when trying to access a static method of a class variable.

class VendorImport {
    //$factory is an instance of another class with a static method get()
    protected $factory;

    public function getInstance() {
        //method 1 works
        $factory = $this->factory;
        return $factory::get();

        //method 2 throws a syntax error
        return $this->factory::get();
    }
}

What is the proper syntax for method 2?

vague guess: parser precedence problem, where your error version is seen as $this->{factory::get()}. What is the EXACT error message you're getting? — Marc B
– Marc B, Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 21:47
If I try it, I get "syntax error, unexpected '::' (T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM)", which is very clear but doesn't explain the reason. — GolezTrol
– GolezTrol, Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 21:53
sorry, the actual error is FatalErrorException: Parse: syntax error, unexpected '::' (T_PAAMAYIM_NEKUDOTAYIM) — Steven Musumeche
– Steven Musumeche, Commented Apr 5, 2014 at 2:09

raina77ow · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-04 22:08:41Z

2

Just use regular syntax for calling non-static methods - it's applicable for static ones too:

// instead of `return $this->factory::get();`
return $this->factory->get();

Demo. There's a drawback, though: now it's not obvious a static method gets called here. But then again, one cannot define two methods - static and non-static - under the same name in the same class.

edited Apr 4, 2014 at 22:08

answered Apr 4, 2014 at 21:55

raina77ow

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1 Comment

Steven Musumeche Over a year ago

This indeed does work but I hate that it doesn't make it obvious that I am calling a static method. The question remains, why does $this->factory::get() caused a syntax error. I am using PHP 5.4.

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