possible bug with static variables?

Hi,

I have discovered some odd behavior with static variables, and wonder if
it is a bug. In both PHP4 and PHP5, the code below prints:

not registered, class pear_common
not registered, class archive_tar

I.e., because the PEAR function is called with $this->PEAR(), the static
variable is reset as if the PEAR() function were re-defined! Is this
expected behavior? I was under the impression that static declared a
per-class static variable.

<?php
class PEAR {
function PEAR($error_class = null)
{
static $registered = false;
$classname = get_class($this);
while ($classname && strcasecmp($classname, "pear")) {
$destructor = "_$classname";
if (method_exists($this, $destructor)) {
if (!$registered) {
echo 'not registered, class ' . get_class($this) .
"\n";
$registered = true;
}
break;
}
}
}
}

class PEAR_Common extends PEAR
{
function PEAR_Common()
{
$this->PEAR();
}

 function _PEAR_Common()
 {
 }

}

class Archive_Tar extends PEAR
{
function Archive_Tar()
{
$this->PEAR();
}

 function _Archive_Tar()
 {
 }

}

$a = &new PEAR;
$b = &new PEAR_Common;
$c = &new Archive_Tar;
?