//it's possible to declare constant in base class, and override it in child, and access to correct value of the const from the static method is possible by 'get_called_class' method:
<?php
abstract class dbObject
{
const TABLE_NAME='undefined';
public static function GetAll()
{
$c = get_called_class();
return "SELECT * FROM `".$c::TABLE_NAME."`";
}
}
class dbPerson extends dbObject
{
const TABLE_NAME='persons';
}
class dbAdmin extends dbPerson
{
const TABLE_NAME='admins';
}
echo dbPerson::GetAll()."<br>";//output: "SELECT * FROM `persons`"
echo dbAdmin::GetAll()."<br>";//output: "SELECT * FROM `admins`"
?>