When to use self over $this?

Question

In PHP 5, what is the difference between using self and $this?

When is each appropriate?

Answer 1

I ran into the same question and the simple answer is:

• $this requires an instance of the class
• self:: doesn't

Whenever you are using static methods or static attributes and want to call them without having an object of the class instantiated you need to use self: to call them, because $this always requires on object to be created.