Magento: Mage:: Static Functions

Magento: Mage:: Static FunctionsPosted on October 25, 2010 by Josh Pratt <!-- .entry-meta -->

I’m sure if you are a Magento developer, you’ve seen or used a lot of these types of methods: Mage::app(), Mage::getModel(), Mage::getSingleton(), etc. I’d like to explain how and why these work if you are unaware.

First, if you open up app/Mage.php, you’ll notice that the class declaration is final class Mage. The ‘final’ php keyword prevents this class from being overridden (extended). Second, you’ll notice that every function in the class is a static function, for instance: public static function getVersion(). A static function basically means that you do not need to instantiate the class/object to use the method.

I will list out some of the main, most useful methods available here. If you want to see the others, just open up app/Mage.php and have a look. You can call these anywhere within your application:

Mage::getVersion()
????Returns your current Magento version.
? Mage::getModel($modelClass = '', $arguments = array())
????Returns a new model object.
? Mage::helper($name)
????Returns a helper object.
? Mage::log($message, $level = null, $file = '', $forceLog = false)
????Logging tool. If you only pass in a message, it logs to var/log/system.log, if you have logging enabled.
? Mage::app()
????Initialize a Magento application object.
? Mage::getStoreConfig($path, $store = null)
????Returns config value by path (basically anything in System >> Configuration).
? Mage::getBaseUrl($type = Mage_Core_Model_Store::URL_TYPE_LINK, $secure = null)
????Returns the base URL by type.
? Mage::register($key, $value)
????Registers a new variable in the registry.
? Mage::unregister($key)
????Unregisters a variable in the registry.
? Mage::registry($key)
????Returns a value from the registry by the given key.
? Mage::getBaseDir($type = 'base')
????Returns the root absolute path. You can of course change which website by passing in the code.
? Mage::getModuleDir($type, $moduleName)
????Returns the absolute path of a given module.
? Mage::getStoreConfigFlag($path, $store = null)
????Returns a config flag by path.
? Mage::getConfig()
????Returns a config instance.
? Mage::getUrl($route = '', $params = array())
????Generates a url by route and parameters.
? Mage::getDesign()
????Returns a design package singleton.
? Mage::dispatchEvent($name, array $data = array())
????Dispatches an event in Magento.
? Mage::getSingleton($modelClass = '', $arguments = array())
????Returns a model object singleton.
? Mage::getResourceModel($modelClass, $arguments = array())
????Returns a resource model object.
? Mage::throwException($message, $messageStorage = null)
????Throw an exception, the Magento way.
? Mage::setIsDeveloperMode($mode)
????Turns developer mode on or off ($mode should be true or false).
? Mage::getIsDeveloperMode()
????Returns if developer mode is enabled or not