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To: Nathan Rixham <nrixham@gmail.com>
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Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:42:05 +0100
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Really Need..
From: mls@pooteeweet.org (Lukas Kahwe Smith)


On 17.01.2009, at 18:06, Nathan Rixham wrote:

> a: Optional Static Typing
> I'm finding an ever increasingly need to be able to staticly type  
> properties, parameters, return types etc (in classes) I know there  
> is type hinting but it's just not enough to do what one needs.  
> Additionally support for staticly typing primatives.

I am not a type hinting fan .. then again I think that PPP is mostly  
bogus for a scripting language as well. I would not mind this stuff if  
it would just all just throw E_STRICT's instead of E_FATAL. To me the  
point of a glue language is to keep running until the engine is about  
to explode or the request has finished.

> b: Object superclass
> A base class type which all objects automagically extend, with (if  
> nothing else) a unique id / hashcode for each object. Failing this  
> some form of function to get a unique reference string for any  
> variable.

I think this is quite pointless. I do not see any need for magic here.  
No need to be able to magically redefine the base class and saving the  
few chars to type is also not sensible (and this will not give you MI  
through the backdoor either).

> c: Method overloading
> TBH it's something I could live without, whereas a/b aren't, but it  
> would be an ideal addition to php; Many times I've had to work  
> around the lack of this functionality with (what could be) unneeded  
> code.

You mean polymorphism? I hope we will never see that in PHP. This kind  
of magic is dangerous and just forces PHP even more into a static  
typed corner. Maybe you need to whip up a patch for your PHP version  
that makes PHP statically typed?

>
regards,
Lukas