What is the difference between __CLASS__ and get_called_class() in PHP when trying to determine the class in which a method was called?

When trying to determine the class in which a method was called in PHP, the __CLASS__ magic constant refers to the class in which it is used, while the get_called_class() function returns the name of the class in which the method was actually called. This means that if a method is inherited by a child class and called from there, get_called_class() will return the child class name, while __CLASS__ will return the parent class name. 

class ParentClass {
    public function getClassUsingMagicConstant() {
        echo __CLASS__;
    }

    public function getClassUsingGetCalledClass() {
        echo get_called_class();
    }
}

class ChildClass extends ParentClass {
}

$parent = new ParentClass();
$child = new ChildClass();

$parent->getClassUsingMagicConstant(); // Output: ParentClass
$parent->getClassUsingGetCalledClass(); // Output: ParentClass

$child->getClassUsingMagicConstant(); // Output: ParentClass
$child->getClassUsingGetCalledClass(); // Output: ChildClass

Keywords

__CLASS__ get_called_class() PHP class method

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