In PHP, a static method is a method that belongs to a class rather than to an instance of the class. This means that you can call a static method on the class itself, rather than on an object of the class.
Here’s an example of a static method:
class MyClass {
public static function staticMethod() {
return 'This is a static method.';
}
}
echo MyClass::staticMethod(); // Output: This is a static method.In this example, the “MyClass” defines a static method called “staticMethod”. The method can be called directly on the class using the double colon (::) operator, without needing to create an object of the class.
Static methods are often used for utility functions or methods that don’t depend on the state of any particular object. They can be called from anywhere within the program, as long as the class is defined and accessible.
It’s important to note that static methods cannot access non-static properties or methods of the class, as they don’t have access to an instance of the class. If you need to access non-static properties or methods, you’ll need to create an object of the class and call the method on the object.
