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Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2023 14:27:54 +0100
To: internals@lists.php.net, Mark Baker <mark@demon-angel.eu>
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Subject: =?US-ASCII?Q?Re=3A_=5BPHP-DEV=5D_=5BRFC=5D_New_core_autoloading_mec?= =?US-ASCII?Q?hanism_with_support_for_function_autoloading?=
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Tommins)

On 11 April 2023 13:21:08 BST, Mark Baker <mark@demon-angel=2Eeu> wrote:
>We have the special constants like \MyNamespace\MyClass::class=2E Would y=
ou envisage (or is there value in) equivalent constants like \MyNamespace\M=
yFunction::function?

This has come up before, but there are two things about ::class to bear in=
 mind:

1) It has nothing to do with classes=2E It just means "resolve namespaced =
name", and doesn't care what string appears on its left-hand side=2E
2) It is calculated (except in a few specific cases) at compile-time, base=
d entirely on the contents of the current file, with no relationship to aut=
oloading or what is defined elsewhere=2E

That's very different from function (and constant) lookups, which happen a=
t run-time, and specifically check whether a function is defined in the cur=
rent namespace before falling back to the global one=2E In other words, the=
 value of foo::function would be dependent on runtime state in a way that F=
oo::class is not=2E

Meanwhile, the main use case for such a syntax - getting a reference to us=
e as a callback - is now well served by the first class callable syntax my_=
function(=2E=2E=2E)

Regards,

--=20
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]