Newsgroups: php.internals
Path: news.php.net
Xref: news.php.net php.internals:25615
Mailing-List: contact internals-help@lists.php.net; run by ezmlm
Received-SPF: error (pb1.pair.com: domain broadpark.no from 80.202.4.58 cause and error)
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 19:40:29 +0200
To: Stanislav Malyshev <stas@zend.com>, RQuadling@GoogleMail.com
Cc: dAniel hAhler <php@thequod.de>, internals@lists.php.net
Message-ID: <004e01c6d5c9$5f9b16a0$9a02a8c0@pc>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
References: <015801c6d4d5$6440d1d0$9a02a8c0@pc>
 <7f3ed2c30609100744x7a5d4fdfs9601ae4671b351d3@mail.gmail.com>
 <003401c6d4ee$1b251d80$9a02a8c0@pc>
 <1803358544.20060910173549@marcus-boerger.de>
 <29.48.46429.82A54054@pb1.pair.com>
 <10845a340609110106y5a21de3coc98659cde5ef0465@mail.gmail.com>
 <450591E5.7080402@zend.com>
Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Re: __autoloading and functions
From: tslettebo@broadpark.no (=?UTF-8?Q?Terje_Sletteb=C3=B8?=)

> >> Maybe a dump question, but wouldn't it get considered only, AFTER PHP
has
> >> found that the function does not exist?
>
> Technically, this can be done - i.e. engine can be patched so that
> instead of throwing an error or refusing the call it would call
> appropriate function which would allow for autoloading.
>
> However, I think autoloading functions if conceptually wrong. One rarely
> keeps functions individually separated in different files (while this is
> routinely happening - and is recommended - for classes). So, if you want
> to autoload functions you would either have to build complex tables of
> where each function lives or organize them in some well-defined modules.
> Such modules are called "classes" in OO-speak

Or "namespaces"... Or just plain "modules". Classes is not the only way to
group things, and may not be the best (namespaces can typically be
re-opened, so functions and classes belonging to a namespace can span
several files, instead of everything having to be in _one_ file).

>, so if you have a group of
> functions that are united by purpose and you want to autoload - why not
> to make a class out of them?

Why? Besides the above, because you may want to be able to call a function
like:

f();

and not:

SomeClassToWrapItAll::f();

...

Please, people: The availability of free (non-member) functions in PHP (as
in C/C++) is one advantage it has over Java, where everything _has_ to be a
class. So in Java, instead of being able to write "sqrt(<number>)", you have
to write "Math::sqrt(<number>)". Always.

And one small plea: If namespaces are added to PHP, please don't add
something like C++'s "argument-dependent lookup": It has caused no end of
problems in that camp. :)

Regards,

Terje