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Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2023 02:14:34 +0200
To: internals@lists.php.net
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Proposal: addition of array_find() and array_find_key()
 functions
From: langemeijer@php.net ("Casper Langemeijer")

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On Thu, Jun 1, 2023, at 18:02, Janusz Szczypka wrote:
> array_find(): This function would allow developers to find the first element in
> an array that satisfies a specific condition. The condition would be defined by a callback function. 

This would actually be an alternative to a simple foreach() with an if() and a break. As your example implementation makes clear.

array_find() and array_find_key() would still do the same internally, but add a function call adding the overhead of pushing parameters to stack, switching the scope, passing return value back switch scope and pop from the callstack again. If parameters or return value are typed this adds even more overhead.

I don't think there is any optimisation possible when this is done in C.

To the proposer it probably feels that this is an array function currently missing, but instead it's probably better not to have array_find() because people might actually use it for larger datasets.

Although I acknowledge that it will reduce the number of lines of PHP code it doesn't actually reduce the mental capacity to read and maintain code. I find the simple elemental building blocks of loops, conditionals and expressions easier and more expressive. In my experience this is especially so for less experienced developers.

Then there is a problem of naming. array_search() and array_find(). To a new developer, how would they know which is which?

Also there is the missing array_find_value_and_key() method. Because why should we be limited to either matching the key OR the value?

Greetings, Casper 


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