In Java and C++ a method is called static, if it can be called on the class, not the object itself. In that sense, all methods in Perl are also static by default. You can explicitly disallow the static usage of a method with something like this:

use Scalar::Util qw(blessed)

sub non_static {
    my $self = shift;
    die "Don't use as a static method" unless defined blessed($self)
    ...
}
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Static methods expect a class name as the first argument. Generally, static methods ignore the first argument because they already know which class they are in. new() is implemented by almost all packages as a static method. Static methods aren't called from an instance of an object, but instead directly from the package name:

Virtual methods or instance methods expect a reference to an object as the first argument. Static methods are class-wide; virtual methods are object-specific.

Generally, static methods ignore the first argument because they already know which class they are in. new() is implemented by almost all packages as a static method.

Yet, because of inheritance and possibility of being called on behalf of other package, well-behaving new() shouldn't ignore the first argument. In simplified case like this:

sub new {
  my ($class, %opts) = @_;
  my $self = { %opts };

  bless $self, $class;
}
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Doesn't this advice directly contradict the advice of lakshmananindia, who states that new() should be static? It seems that there is a lack of consensus on whether new() should be static or virtual. This is a real problem, because no facility is provided to force the caller to invoke new() the correct way by producing an error if the invocation is wrong.

... and for an answer (<update> re C, </update> and admittedly in a form not calculated to write the code for you), you may wish to see "What is the difference between static method and virtual method" at sahee.com.

To the extent that those terms apply to Perl a 'virtual method' is called on an object instance using ->:

$obj->methodName (...);
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A 'static method' is simply a sub in an OO package that provides functionality related to the package's object type, but that isn't called in the context of an object instance. new is of this nature - it is used to create a new instance of the package's object.