How to reference classes

[SBro]

I've never understood this, so if someone can explain the difference between these 2 methods it would be appreciated:

$Object->function()
Object::function()

What are the differences between these and when would you use one method over the other? thanks

[thorpe]

the first one is just the normal method for referencing a public method. you would need to instatiate the object first. eg;

$object = new object();
$object->method();

the second is a reference to a static method. a static method can be called without instantiating the object. like so;

$object::method();

yu can read all about it here