PHP Magic Constants Difference between __CLASS__, get_class() and get_called_class()
Example
__CLASS__ magic constant returns the same result as get_class() function called without parameters and they both return the name of the class where it was defined (i.e. where you wrote the function call/constant name ).
In contrast, get_class($this) and get_called_class() functions call, will both return the name of the actual class which was instantiated:
<?php
class Definition_Class {
public function say(){
echo '__CLASS__ value: ' . __CLASS__ . "\n";
echo 'get_called_class() value: ' . get_called_class() . "\n";
echo 'get_class($this) value: ' . get_class($this) . "\n";
echo 'get_class() value: ' . get_class() . "\n";
}
}
class Actual_Class extends Definition_Class {}
$c = new Actual_Class();
$c->say();
// Output:
// __CLASS__ value: Definition_Class
// get_called_class() value: Actual_Class
// get_class($this) value: Actual_Class
// get_class() value: Definition_Class
