Methodcall¶
A method call is the actual usage of a method. It requires an object, the method name and the arguments for the method.
A method call is based on an object, and the -> and ?-> operators. A method call may be static: the operator is then ::, and the left operand is a class name, expressed as a string; although, it may also be an object, though the class of that object is used, not the object itself.
Methods may be called by using the array syntax: array($object, $methodname)($arguments).
Method call may be chained. This means that the method returns an object, either the current one or another; then another call of method is built on top of this call.
Static methods must be called statically. Method must be called non-statically, although it is possible to call them statically within a class: this is convenient for parent::__construct(), for example.
<?php
class X {
function foo($a) {}
static function bar($b) {}
}
$x = new x;
// a method call
$x->foo(1);
[$x, 'foo'](1);
// a static method call
x::bar(2);
$x::bar(3);
x::class::bar(4);
[x::class, 'bar'](1);
?>
Related : Fluent Interface, Chaining
