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Date: Mon, 08 Apr 2024 09:05:37 +0100
To: internals@lists.php.net
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Proposal: Arbitrary precision native scalar type
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From: imsop.php@rwec.co.uk ("Rowan Tommins [IMSoP]")



On 8 April 2024 01:34:45 BST, Saki Takamachi <saki@sakiot=2Ecom> wrote:
>
> I'm making these opinions from an API design perspective=2E How the data=
 is held internally is irrelevant=2E zval has a lot of data other than valu=
es=2E What I want to say is that if multiple types of parameters are requir=
ed for initialization, they may only serve as a substitute for object for t=
he user=2E

Again, that only seems related to objects because that's what you're used =
to in PHP, and even then you're overlooking an obvious exception: array(1, =
2)

If we ever do want to make decimals a native type, we would need some way =
to initialise a decimal value, since 1=2E2 will initialise a float=2E One o=
f the most obvious options is a function-like syntax, decimal(1=2E2)=2E If =
we do want numbers to carry extra information in each value, it will be no =
problem at all to support that=2E

On the other side, just because something's easy doesn't mean it's the rig=
ht solution=2E We could make an object which contained a number and an oper=
ation, and write this:=20

$a =3D new NumberOp(42, 'add');
$b =3D $a->exec(15);
$c =3D $b->withOperation('mul');
$d =3D $c->exec(2);

I'm sure you'd agree that would be a bad design=2E

So, again, I urge you to forget about it being easy to stick an extra prop=
erty on an object, and think in the abstract: does it make sense to say "th=
is number has a preferred rounding mode", rather than "this operation has a=
 preferred rounding mode"=2E

Regards,
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]