PHP 5: const vs static

Question

In PHP 5, what is the difference between using const and static?

When is each appropriate? And what role does public, pr

Answer 1

Constant is just a constant, i.e. you can't change its value after declaring.

Static variable is accessible without making an instance of a class and therefore shared between all the instances of a class.

Also, there can be a static local variable in a function that is declared only once (on the first execution of a function) and can store its value between function calls, example:

function foo()
{
   static $numOfCalls = 0;
   $numOfCalls++;
   print("this function has been executed " . $numOfCalls . " times");
}