php static methods question

Question

What is the difference between these two pieces of code?

class something {

   static function doit() {
      echo 'hello world';
   }
}

something::doit();

and the same but without the static keyword

class something {

   function doit() {
      echo 'hello world';
   }
}

something::doit();

They both work the same is it better to use the static keywords? Am i right in understanding that it doesn't instantiate the class if you use the static method?

Answer 1

The second example is technically incorrect - if you turn on E_STRICT error reporting you'll see that PHP is actually throwing an error.

PHP Strict Standards: Non-static method something::doit() should not be called statically in...

In other words, it's being nice and letting you call the function anyway.