Possible to get name of current class from an uninstantiated object in PHP?

Question

I know you can use get_class($this) normally but I need to get the name of the class in a static function where the object hasn't been instantiated.

See the following code:

class ExampleClass
{
    static function getClassName()
    {
        echo get_class($this); // doesn't work unless the object is instantiated.
    }
}

$test1 = new ExampleClass();
$test1->getClassName(); // works

ExampleClass::getClassName(); // doesn't work

Answer 1

I figured out you can use __CLASS__ to get the class name. Example:

class ExampleClass
{
    static function getClassName()
    {
        echo __CLASS__;
    }
}

Answer 2

I think you're looking for the get_called_class() function, if you wish to get the class name from a static method.

See get_called_class documentation for more information.

Answer 3

My question is, how are you managing to call a static function without knowing the class name in the first place?

The only two ways I can think of are:

ExampleClass::getClassName(); //Hard Coded - the class name is hard and visible
$class = "ExampleClass";
$class::getClassName();       //Soft Coded - the class name is the value of $class

Perhaps a better solution could be offered if we knew the context in which you are trying to make the call?