I happen to be the only PHP programmer that I know, so it’s hard to ask your buddy what the heck that :: is used for in some OO PHP programs. I know you could post it on a forum and get the answer, but I never did. And Google wasn’t really forth coming when you put :: in a search. Finally I found it in the PHP documentation: check out Scope Resolution Operator (::). In short, it’s used to access Static or Constant members of a class. Here’s a brief example:
class DatabaseConnector {
const CONNECTION_STRING = 'myconnectionstring';
}
//Referece that connection string constant like so...
DatabaseConnector::CONNECTION_STRING;
So there you go, mystery solved 
In case you’re wondering what the :: is called, it’s a Paamayim Nekudotayim, which is Hebrew for the cryptic phrase: double colon!
Cheers,
Byron
Does it do something that “->” doesn’t do?
Under what circumstancces do you use “::” but NOT “->”?
Under what circumstances will either one of them work? With ot without the same result?
Hi beanluc,
Sounds like a test question
To use “::”, you need to be accessing static functions or variables, constants, or overridden functions. For a function, you’d need something like:
public static function showAge(){…}
then you could access it like: ClassName::showAge();
When you’re working with an instance of an object, you use ->. In general, you’ll get the same results since you’re mostly working with Constants and static functions and they don’t usually change.
Check out the link in the article above for a more details.
Cheers!
Byron
Thanks Byron,
I do have people I could have asked… but I was too embarassed as I should have found this out a long time ago
At least now Googling the answer works… thanks to you
Monkey,
I hear ya! Glad to help!
Byron
HA! Finally, a good and simple answer! Indeed, I have had such trouble googling “::”. I don’t know why, but something about giving Google a bunch of symbols doesn’t give very good search results.
Thanks for answering this question, it will come in very handy now that I know what the darn thing is and how to use it! I’ve actually asked people before, but when I ask about “that double colon thingy” I either got blank stares, or some over-technical jabbering that I could not understand.
Thanks for the great post!
Thanks
thanks for posting this. i was wondering too.
lol, I can speak hebrew so I know the paamayim nekudotaiim thingy, and thanks to you I can use it now
thanks!