Calling get_class() without arguments is deprecated

Description

get_class() used to allow its usage without an argument. Then, it would return the current class context, at compile time. Hence, in the code here, it used to return x, may it be called from x or y.

This behavior is not allowed anymore, and will be removed in PHP 9.

Note that calling get_class without an argument was different from calling get_class with the null value.

Example

<?php

class X {
     function foo() {
             echo get_class();         // x
             echo get_class($this);    // y

             // echo get_class(null);  // Type error
     }
}

class Y extends X {}

echo (new Y)->foo();

?>

Solutions

• Use the __CLASS__ constant to get the name of the class at compile time.

• Use the get_class($this) call, to get the name of the class at execution time.

Changed Behavior

This error may appear following an evolution in behavior, in previous versions. See get_classWithoutArgument.

Static Analysis

This error may be tracked down with the following static analysis rules: Structures/GetClassWithoutArg.