Method Not Property Name Must Be String¶

<?php

class X {
    static public $p = 1;
    static function foo() {}


    function __toString() :  string {
        return 'foo';
    }
}

$name = []; // try with different type : bool, int, float, object..
try {
    echo X::$name;
} catch (Error $e) {
    print $e->getMessage();
}

$name = [];
try {
    echo X::${$name}();
} catch (Error $e) {
    print $e->getMessage();
}

?>

A dynamic property name must be a string, and it must exist. It cannot be anything else, as not casting to string happens.

On the other hand, a dynamic property name is forcefully cast to a string before accessing its value.

See Also¶

Method Not Property Name Must Be String [Try me]

PHP Features¶

Last updated: 14 July 2026