Question

I am trying to learn OO and classes and all that good stuff in PHP, I am finally learning the sytax good enough to use it some and I am curious if there is any benefit of starting a new object instead of just using static methods…let me show some code for what I mean…

<?PHP
test class
{
    public function cool()
    {
         retunr true;

    }
}

//Then calling it like this
$test = new test();
$test->cool();
?>

OR

<?PHP
test class
{
    public static function cool()
    {
         retunr true;

    }
}

//Then calling it like this
test::cool();

?>

I realize this is the most basic example imaginable and the answer probably depends on the situation but maybe you can help me understand a little better

Answer 1

For your example, it is better to use a static function, but most situations will not be so simple. A good rule of thumb to start with is that if a method doesn’t use the $this variable, then it should be made static.