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Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 21:00:12 +0200
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Return type hints
From: tslettebo@broadpark.no (=?UTF-8?Q?Terje_Sletteb=C3=B8?=)

>From: "Richard Quadling" <rquadling@googlemail.com>

> On 13/09/06, Terje Slettebø <tslettebo@broadpark.no> wrote:
> > >From: "Richard Quadling" <rquadling@googlemail.com>
> >
> > > On 12/09/06, Terje Slettebø <tslettebo@broadpark.no> wrote:
> > > > function f(Something $value)  /** @return SomethingElse */
> > > > {
> > > >   // ...
> > > > }
> > >
> > > But one of the first things we are told about using PHP ITRW is to
> > > always validate user input and to make sure you only accept what you
> > > know to be valid data.
> >
> > True, and at least with regard to function calls, with type hinting (as
you
> > mention below), that testing is done for you, so you don't have to,
leading
> > to less code and syntactic noise (and possibly better performance).
>
> The issue then becomes what would happen to a value of the wrong type?

Getting a fatal error, like with today's parameter type hinting? As an
aside: I find it a little ironic that something called "type _hint_" gives a
_fatal_ error... (Not even a chance for the error handler to catch it...)
It's as if it talks with two tongues: "Oh, yes, we are very liberal - we
only _hint_ at what we accept. (Then, with much lower voice) However, we do
stop with a fatal error, if you try something else..." "PHP: Desperately
wants to be loosely typed, yet desperately wants to be strongly typed...?
:)"

> You either have the option of using PHP's own internal casting
> mechanism, so f(int $i_int_expected) would internally cast the
> supplied parameter as an int or you have to produce a WARNING with a
> "parameter of the wrong type" message. But then what is passed to the
> function? This would have to be determined somehow.

I'm not sure what you talk about, here? We already _have_ type hints for
arguments...

Regards,

Terje