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

Here is a small benchmark (7.2.24 on repl.it):

            Speed (in seconds)  Percentage
$this->     0.91760206222534    100
self::      1.0047659873962     109.49909865716
static::    0.98066782951355    106.87288857386

Results for 4 000 000 runs. Conclusion: it doesn't matter. And here is the code I used:

<?php

class Foo
{
  public function calling_this() { $this->called(); }
  public function calling_self() { self::called(); }
  public function calling_static() { static::called(); }
  public static function called() {}
}

$foo = new Foo();
$n = 4000000;
$times = [];

// warmup
for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) { $foo->calling_this(); }
for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) { $foo->calling_self(); }
for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) { $foo->calling_static(); }

$start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) { $foo->calling_this(); }
$times["this"] = microtime(true)-$start;

$start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) { $foo->calling_self(); }
$times["self"] = microtime(true)-$start;

$start = microtime(true);
for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) { $foo->calling_static(); }
$times["static"] = microtime(true)-$start;

$min = min($times);
echo $times["this"] . "\t" . ($times["this"] / $min)*100 . "\n";
echo $times["self"] . "\t" . ($times["self"] / $min)*100 . "\n";
echo $times["static"] . "\t" . ($times["static"] / $min)*100 . "\n";

Answer 2

self:: keyword used for the current class and basically it is used to access static members, methods, and constants. But in case of $this you cannot call the static member, method and functions.

You can use the self:: keyword in another class and access the static members, method and constants. When it will be extends from parent class and same in case of $this keyword. You can access the non static members, method and function in another class when it will be extends from parent class.

The code given below is a example of self:: and $this keyword. Just copy and paste the code in your code file and see the output.

class cars{
    var $doors=4;   
    static $car_wheel=4;

  public function car_features(){
    echo $this->doors." Doors <br>";
    echo self::$car_wheel." Wheels <br>"; 
  }
}

class spec extends cars{
    function car_spec(){
        print(self::$car_wheel." Doors <br>");
        print($this->doors." Wheels <br>");
    }
}

/********Parent class output*********/

$car = new cars;
print_r($car->car_features());

echo "------------------------<br>";

/********Extend class from another class output**********/


$car_spec_show=new spec;

print($car_spec_show->car_spec());

Answer 3

According to http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.oop5.static.php there is no $self. There is only $this, for referring to the current instance of the class (the object), and self, which can be used to refer to static members of a class. The difference between an object instance and a class comes into play here.

Answer 4

From this blog post:

• self refers to the current class
• self can be used to call static functions and reference static member variables
• self can be used inside static functions
• self can also turn off polymorphic behavior by bypassing the vtable
• $this refers to the current object
• $this can be used to call static functions
• $this should not be used to call static member variables. Use self instead.
• $this can not be used inside static functions

Answer 5

Short Answer

Use $this to refer to the current object. Use self to refer to the current class. In other words, use $this->member for non-static members, use self::$member for static members.

Full Answer

Here is an example of correct usage of $this and self for non-static and static member variables:

<?php
class X {
    private $non_static_member = 1;
    private static $static_member = 2;

    function __construct() {
        echo $this->non_static_member . ' '
           . self::$static_member;
    }
}

new X();
?>

Here is an example of incorrect usage of $this and self for non-static and static member variables:

<?php
class X {
    private $non_static_member = 1;
    private static $static_member = 2;

    function __construct() {
        echo self::$non_static_member . ' '
           . $this->static_member;
    }
}

new X();
?>

Here is an example of polymorphism with $this for member functions:

<?php
class X {
    function foo() {
        echo 'X::foo()';
    }

    function bar() {
        $this->foo();
    }
}

class Y extends X {
    function foo() {
        echo 'Y::foo()';
    }
}

$x = new Y();
$x->bar();
?>

Here is an example of suppressing polymorphic behaviour by using self for member functions:

<?php
class X {
    function foo() {
        echo 'X::foo()';
    }

    function bar() {
        self::foo();
    }
}

class Y extends X {
    function foo() {
        echo 'Y::foo()';
    }
}

$x = new Y();
$x->bar();
?>

The idea is that $this->foo() calls the foo() member function of whatever is the exact type of the current object. If the object is of type X, it thus calls X::foo(). If the object is of type Y, it calls Y::foo(). But with self::foo(), X::foo() is always called.

From http://www.phpbuilder.com/board/showthread.php?t=10354489:

By http://board.phpbuilder.com/member.php?145249-laserlight

Answer 6

$this refers to the current class object, self refers to the current class (Not object). The class is the blueprint of the object. So you define a class, but you construct objects.

So in other words, use self for static and this for none-static members or methods.

also in child/parent scenario self / parent is mostly used to identified child and parent class members and methods.