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Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2015 11:57:20 +0100
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] Core functions throwing exceptions in PHP7
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Collins)

Sammy Kaye Powers wrote on 14/07/2015 22:04:
> Since the core functions in PHP don't throw Exceptions, there is debate on
> whether or not this change should be implemented. Some say the CSPRNG's
> should get a special pass since they will be relied on for cryptography. If
> we can't throw Exceptions, there were suggestions of raising a fatal error
> if the RNG fails.

Given that the *engine itself* now throws exceptions, and we have 
bundled extensions which throw exceptions, the blanket ban on exceptions 
"in core functions" seems increasingly out-dated. This particular 
function is in ext/standard, which is about as "core" as you can get, 
but it is a brand new function with no BC considerations and an explicit 
mandate to be as secure as possible.

To me, using an exception here makes perfect sense, but I'm not sure how 
to formulate a policy that allows that without opening the floodgates 
too quickly. I'm also a big fan of proper exception hierarchies - I've 
seen so many times that you should never *catch* the base Exception 
class, so *throwing* a base Exception seems very wrong to me.

Regards,
-- 
Rowan Collins
[IMSoP]