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Date: Mon, 08 Jul 2024 11:41:05 +0200
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] [PHP-Dev] Versioned Packagers (Iteration IV)
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From: imsop.php@rwec.co.uk ("Rowan Tommins [IMSoP]")



On 8 July 2024 04:25:45 CEST, Jordan LeDoux <jordan=2Eledoux@gmail=2Ecom> =
wrote:
>I think it's strange that this discussion has driven deep down the tangen=
t
>of versioning=2E=2E=2E
[=2E=2E=2E]
>Things like separating global scope between importer and importee, manage=
d
>visibility of symbols and exports from modules/packages, allowing for
>separate autoloaders for things which are called or included via an impor=
t,
>etc=2E Those are the things that the language itself can do=2E
>
>All this other stuff feels like a distraction=2E

I agree=2E I wrote most of the below a couple of days ago, but I don't thi=
nk it posted correctly, so apologies if some people see it twice:=20

Autoloading is just a way to load files later, by the engine telling you w=
hen a class is first needed=2E PHP does not, and should not, make any assum=
ptions about how files are laid out on disk; an autoloader doesn't actually=
 need to load any files at all, and if it does, it uses the same include or=
 require statements which have been in PHP for decades=2E

Likewise, installing packages and defining version schemes is a completely=
 separate problem space that can probably be served by a few small tweaks t=
o Composer once the language provides the underlying functionality=2E

The core of the problem you seem to want to solve is this: if you have two=
 files foo_1=2Ephp and foo_2=2Ephp, which both define a class \Acme\Foo, ho=
w do you load both of them, so that you end up with two differently named c=
lasses?=20

In JS, that's easy, because functions and object constructors (and "classe=
s") exist as objects you can pass around as variables, they don't need to k=
now their own name=2E In PHP, everything is based on the idea that function=
s and classes are identified by name=2E You can rewrite the name in the cla=
ss declaration, and in direct references to it, but what about code using :=
:class, or constructing a name and using "new $name", and so on? How will t=
ools using static analysis or reflection handle the renaming - e=2Eg=2E how=
 does DI autowiring work if names are in some sense dynamic?

You've also got to work out what to do with transitive dependencies - if I=
 "import 'foo_1=2Ephp' as MyFoo", but Foo in turn has "import 'guzzle_2=2Ep=
hp' as MyGuzzle", what namespace do all Guzzle's classes get rewritten into=
? What about dependencies that are specifically intended to bridge between =
packages, like PSR-7 RequestInterface?

My advice: start with the assumption that something has already installed =
all the files you need into an arbitrary directory structure, and something=
 is going to generate a bunch of statements to load them=2E What happens ne=
xt, in the language itself, to make them live side by side without breaking=
? If we get a solid solution to that (which I'm skeptical of), we can discu=
ss how Composer, or the WordPress plugin installer, would generate whatever=
 include/import/alias/rewrite statements we end up creating=2E

Regards,
--=20
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]