static keyword before variable in a method

Question

I found the following method and I don't know what the static keyword does at that point. The variable is initialized with [] so it's empty anytime the method is called anyways.

What does the static keyword do at this point?

public function getSomething($entity)
{
    static $collection = [];
    if (!$collection[$entity->getPrimaryKey()]) {
        $collection[$entity->getPrimaryKey()] = 'something';
    }

    return $this->doCollection($collection);
}

https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.variables.scope.php#language.variables.scope.static — deceze, Mar 17 '22 at 12:32
Or [the second example in this answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/7508374/2370483) — Machavity, Mar 17 '22 at 12:32
> 20 years in PHP programming and I've never seen someone really use this since OOP is a thing — Daniel W., Mar 17 '22 at 13:02

score -2 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 17 '22 at 12:29

-2

declaring properties or methods as static allows you to access them without needing to instantiate the class.

answered Mar 17 '22 at 12:29

Alaindeseine

3,260
1
11
21

1

It's neither a property nor a method. – Daniel W. Mar 17 '22 at 12:29

static keyword before variable in a method

1 Answers1