PHP static variable, need help counting in a function - php

Question

I have a function that takes an input variable and outputs a template with the following call:
outputhtml($blue_widget);
outputhtml($red_widget);
outputhtml($green_widget);
And a simplified version of the function:
function outputhtml($type)
{
static $current;
if (isset($current))
{
$current++;
}
else
{
$current = 0;
}
//some logic here to determine template to output
return $widget_template;
}
Now here is my problem. If I call the function in a script three times or more, I want the output to be one way, but if I only call the function twice, then I have some html changes that need to be reflected in the templates that are returned.
So how can I modify this function to determine if there are only two calls for it. I can't go back after the fact and ask "hey function did you only run twice???"
Having trouble getting my head around how I tell a function that it is not going to be used after the second time and the necessary html modifications can be used. How would I go about accomplishing this?

Answer 1

function outputhtml($type)
{
static $current = 0;
$current++;
//some logic here to determine template to output
if ($current === 2) {
// called twice
}
if ($current > 2) {
// called more than twice
}
return $widget_template;
}

Answer 2

That would not be practical using a static $current inside the function; I would suggest using an object to maintain the state instead, like so:
class Something
{
private $current = 0;
function outputhtml($type)
{
// ... whatever
++$this->current;
return $template;
}
function didRunTwice()
{
return $this->current == 2;
}
}
The didRunTwice() method is asking "did you run twice?".
$s = new Something;
$tpl = $s->outputhtml(1);
// some other code here
$tpl2 = $s->outputhtml(2);
// some other code here
if ($s->didRunTwice()) {
// do stuff with $tpl and $tpl2
}
The only way you can find out if a function was only called twice is by putting the test at the end of your code; but perhaps by then the templates are no longer accessible? Can't tell much without seeing more code.