Magento - Accessing php block class from template phtml file

Question

I came across a way of accessing BLOCK classes (from a module)...in a phtml file. I could basically use '$var = Mage::blahblah....' and get access to any Block file in the module.

I didnt save this stmt, now i need to use it again, and cant find the info i need.

Does anyone know what the statment would be?

many thanks

Answer 1

Block class instances can be instantiated anywhere like so:

Mage::app()->getLayout()->createBlock('core/template')->...;
//or $this->getLayout()->createBlock('core/template')->...;
//or $this->getLayout()->getBlock('block_name_loaded_in_controller_or_layout_or...');

Answer 2

To further Ben's response, I've used:

$cmsBlock = Mage::getModel('cms/block')->load($blockId)->getContent();
if($cmsBlock) {
    ...do stuff...
}

when making a check to see if a specific static block exists. This can then be echoed as normal to display the content.

The main difference here is that:

Mage::app()->getLayout()->createBlock('cms/block')->setBlockId($blockId)->toHtml();

Creates a new block but it may be empty if $blockId is not valid. The first method calls that specific static block. There may be another way here, but this is what worked for me.