class method

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

class method

   <programming> A kind of {method}, available in some
   {object-oriented programming} languages, that operates on the
   class as a whole, as opposed to an {object method} that
   operates on an object that is an instance of the class.

   A typical example of a class method would be one that keeps a
   count of the number of objects of that class that have been
   created.

   (2000-03-22)