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In-Reply-To: <e3ea7fd0-3fa1-4f6f-a3a6-a7cc692d9d5f@alec.pl>
Date: Tue, 24 Mar 2026 07:04:31 -0400
Message-ID: <CAMXcktOAwUvQ0sBs9vpbG-L2AHqbaoy=fwKfKibVdSxtJW1ygA@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] [RFC] Four Pragmatic Directions for PHP: Simplicity,
 Arrays, Performance, Concurrency
To: Aleksander Machniak <alec@alec.pl>
Cc: internals@lists.php.net
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From: dliebner@gmail.com (Dan Liebner)

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I agree with this sentiment.

My main gripe with PHP 8 is that undefined array key accesses trigger a
warning. There is no solution to this that doesn't require destroying the
readability of a legacy codebase or using some hacky global error handler.

I think the direction should always have been this: undefined array key
accesses should simply return null by default.

To ensure data integrity in critical paths, a new language construct could
be used: strict_access($arr['key']). This construct `strict_access`
(similar to isset which is not a "real" function) would tell the compiler
to emit a specialized opcode that triggers a warning if the key is missing.
Maybe a shorthand like `$arr['key']!` could be used. This would give
developers the best of both worlds: clean, 'script-style' code by default,
and explicit, high-performance validation only where it's actually
requested.

- Dan

On Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 6:33=E2=80=AFAM Aleksander Machniak <alec@alec.pl> =
wrote:

> On 24.03.2026 11:08, =E6=B2=89=E9=BB=98=E9=A2=86=E5=9F=9F=E3=80=81 wrote:
> > // Current
> > $names =3D array_values(array_filter($users, fn($u) =3D> $u->active));
> > $first =3D count($names) > 0 ? $names[0] : null;
>
> Not the best example, as you can also do:
>
> $first =3D array_find($users, fn ($user) =3D> $user->active)?->name;
>
> There are some existing functions like array_column() and array_first()
> that seems you didn't know existed. So, there's been some progress in
> this territory too.
>
> --
> Aleksander Machniak
> Kolab Groupware Developer        [https://kolab.org]
> Roundcube Webmail Developer  [https://roundcube.net]
> ----------------------------------------------------
> PGP: 19359DC1 # Blog: https://kolabian.wordpress.com
>

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div>I agree with this sentiment.</div><div><br></div><div=
>My main gripe with PHP 8 is that undefined array key accesses trigger a wa=
rning. There is no solution to this that doesn&#39;t require destroying the=
 readability of a legacy codebase or using some hacky global error handler.=
</div><div><br></div><div>I think the direction should always have been thi=
s: undefined array key accesses should simply return null by default.</div>=
<div><br></div><div>To ensure data integrity in critical paths, a new langu=
age construct could be=C2=A0used: strict_access($arr[&#39;key&#39;]). This =
construct `strict_access` (similar to isset which is not a &quot;real&quot;=
 function) would tell the compiler to emit a specialized opcode that trigge=
rs a warning if the key is missing. Maybe a shorthand like `$arr[&#39;key&#=
39;]!` could be used. This would give developers the best of both worlds: c=
lean, &#39;script-style&#39; code by default, and explicit, high-performanc=
e validation only where it&#39;s actually requested.</div><div><br></div>- =
Dan</div><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote"><div dir=3D"ltr" class=3D"gmail_att=
r">On Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 6:33=E2=80=AFAM Aleksander Machniak &lt;<a href=
=3D"mailto:alec@alec.pl" target=3D"_blank">alec@alec.pl</a>&gt; wrote:<br><=
/div><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;bo=
rder-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">On 24.03.2026 11:08,=
 =E6=B2=89=E9=BB=98=E9=A2=86=E5=9F=9F=E3=80=81 wrote:<br>
&gt; // Current<br>
&gt; $names =3D array_values(array_filter($users, fn($u) =3D&gt; $u-&gt;act=
ive));<br>
&gt; $first =3D count($names) &gt; 0 ? $names[0] : null;<br>
<br>
Not the best example, as you can also do:<br>
<br>
$first =3D array_find($users, fn ($user) =3D&gt; $user-&gt;active)?-&gt;nam=
e;<br>
<br>
There are some existing functions like array_column() and array_first() <br=
>
that seems you didn&#39;t know existed. So, there&#39;s been some progress =
in <br>
this territory too.<br>
<br>
-- <br>
Aleksander Machniak<br>
Kolab Groupware Developer=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 [<a href=3D"https://ko=
lab.org" rel=3D"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://kolab.org</a>]<br>
Roundcube Webmail Developer=C2=A0 [<a href=3D"https://roundcube.net" rel=3D=
"noreferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://roundcube.net</a>]<br>
----------------------------------------------------<br>
PGP: 19359DC1 # Blog: <a href=3D"https://kolabian.wordpress.com" rel=3D"nor=
eferrer" target=3D"_blank">https://kolabian.wordpress.com</a><br>
</blockquote></div>

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