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Subject: Autoloading namespace constants and functions
From: chuck@horde.org (Chuck Hagenbuch)

A few different proposals have mentioned the possibility that import =20
or use statements might trigger autoload.

My initial reaction is that this would be bad, BUT: it could let us =20
use autoload to handle namespaced function libraries and namespace =20
constants also - as long as they were imported. Which would be good.

The missing piece would be allowing autoload to trigger when a =20
fully-qualified name was used whether that name was for a function, =20
class, or constant.

In other words, I'd like autoload to kick in when I do this:

<?php

$stuff =3D My::Namespace::do_stuff();

?>

... but let do_stuff be a function in the My::Namespace namespace, not =20
a class method of the Namespace class in the My namespace.

Right now as far as I can see autoload will trigger for this =20
situation, but it will fail because after autoload finishes because =20
My::Namespace wasn't declared as a class. Same for accessing namespace =20
constants.

Would it be possible to, after autoload runs, go back to seeing if the =20
call is now resolvable, rather than assuming that a class had to be =20
loaded?

To try and fend off any "just don't use autoload" responses, the =20
reason I want this to work is that if I can organize my libraries in a =20
way that they are autoloadable, I can leave the decision on how code =20
should be included up to the top-level application using the library. =20
I can use an autoloader with development or when building a site, and =20
then I can start including files explicitly - with no conditional =20
includes and no _once usage - in a very opcode-cache friendly way, =20
with no changes to the libraries or the rest of the app. I think =20
that's a very desirable situation, and namespaces almost get us there =20
- I just can't make full use of namespaced functions or namespace =20
constants right now if I want to do it.

-chuck