Newsgroups: php.internals
Path: news.php.net
Xref: news.php.net php.internals:105630
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset=utf-8
Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 12.4 \(3445.104.8\))
In-Reply-To: <CAOkcCt-3OEKmsQVam=t-XSs7R-bNTDwLrLMT45QDauh_=nBCJA@mail.gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 7 May 2019 17:15:41 +0200
Cc: PHP internals <internals@lists.php.net>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Message-ID: <DC02C607-A694-401B-8BD5-BEBAF00827B0@gmail.com>
References: <CAOkcCt-3OEKmsQVam=t-XSs7R-bNTDwLrLMT45QDauh_=nBCJA@mail.gmail.com>
To: Gert <gertp93@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Error instead of returning false
From: claude.pache@gmail.com (Claude Pache)

> Le 7 mai 2019 =C3=A0 16:22, Gert <gertp93@gmail.com> a =C3=A9crit :
>=20
> Hello internals,
>=20
> I wanted to propose an RFC, but i'd like to check first if this idea
> has been considered before already.
>=20
> My idea, extremely summarized, would be to take the functions that
> return false/null when they 'error', and instead make them actually
> throw an error.
>=20
> Currently, functions like getcwd or json_decode will return false/null
> when an error occurs, and they populate a global error state, which
> can be retrieved by error_get_last, or similar functions. json_decode
> already got the JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR option in PHP 7.3, and this RFC
> would basically make that behaviour default. This RFC would target PHP
> 8.0, but i'd like to hear some opinions on this.
>=20
> Greetings,
> Gert de Pagter (BackEndTea)
>=20
> --=20
> PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List
> To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
>=20


The big issue, with your proposal, is, of course, migration of legacy =
code:

<?php
$f =3D @fopen($whatever);
if ($f =3D=3D=3D false) {
    // handle the error.
}
?>

If you do think that ideally an exception should be thrown here, it is =
better to devise a new function=E2=80=94and, while you=E2=80=99re at it, =
a function that returns an object of some definite class instead of a =
resource.

Another issue is that a =E2=80=9Cfailure=E2=80=9D is not necessarily an =
=E2=80=9Cerror=E2=80=9D. For example, when I use `strpos()`, I expect =
that it returns sometimes `false`; and either using a try/catch =
construct, or using a separate check beforehand would be cumbersome.

=E2=80=94Claude