What is the purpose of using double colons "::" in PHP, such as in the code snippet provided?

The double colons "::" in PHP are used to access static methods or properties in a class without needing to instantiate an object of that class. This is known as the scope resolution operator. It allows you to call static methods or access static properties directly from the class itself. Example:

class MyClass {
    public static $myProperty = "Hello, World!";
    
    public static function myMethod() {
        return "This is a static method.";
    }
}

echo MyClass::$myProperty; // Output: Hello, World!
echo MyClass::myMethod(); // Output: This is a static method.