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Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:41:46 -0400
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Iterable Type Hint
From: weierophinney@php.net (Matthew Weier O'Phinney)

On 2012-07-12, Rasmus Lerdorf <rasmus@lerdorf.com> wrote:
> On 07/12/2012 09:30 AM, Stas Malyshev wrote:
> > > Would it be worth while adding a new type hint that checks for this
> > > condition? I'd propose Iterable:
> > 
> > I see more and more multiplication of weird ad-hoc type checks. First we
> > had "callable", now "traversable", then we invent more and more weird
> > functional types with complex logic. I don't like this development at
> > all. It's ad-hoc introducing of half-baked, unstandartized, undesigned
> > strict typing. Strict typing is not a good idea for PHP, and weird
> > strict typing based on complex conditions hidden from the user is even
> > worse IMO.
>
> For non-interchangeable types it is already strict by definition. I
> don't see a problem with type hints that make life easier on both the
> caller (by generating better error messages) and the callee (by having
> to write less boilerplate type verification code).
>
> You may have a point on the ad-hoc nature of it and that we need to do
> it once and for all in a more organized fashion, but the basic premise
> looks ok to me.

I wouldn't call it ad hoc, actually, but more a recognition of what practices
and patterns are now occurring. A few years ago, I'd have type-hinted on array
and been done with it. But more and more often, I'm interested in either an
array or something Traversable, and I end up with boilerplate just like Anthony
had in his original post on this thread. And I see it _everywhere_.

-- 
Matthew Weier O'Phinney
Project Lead            | matthew@zend.com
Zend Framework          | http://framework.zend.com/
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