The __CLASS__ magic constant nicely complements the get_class() function.

Sometimes you need to know both:
- name of the inherited class
- name of the class actually executed

Here's an example that shows the possible solution:

<?php

class base_class
{
    function say_a()
    {
        echo "'a' - said the " . __CLASS__ . "<br/>";
    }

    function say_b()
    {
        echo "'b' - said the " . get_class($this) . "<br/>";
    }

}

class derived_class extends base_class
{
    function say_a()
    {
        parent::say_a();
        echo "'a' - said the " . __CLASS__ . "<br/>";
    }

    function say_b()
    {
        parent::say_b();
        echo "'b' - said the " . get_class($this) . "<br/>";
    }
}

$obj_b = new derived_class();

$obj_b->say_a();
echo "<br/>";
$obj_b->say_b();

?>

The output should look roughly like this:

'a' - said the base_class
'a' - said the derived_class

'b' - said the derived_class
'b' - said the derived_class