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Date: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:14:54 +0100
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Subject: Re: [PHP-DEV] PHP 7.1 - Address PHPSadness #28?
From: rowan.collins@gmail.com (Rowan Collins)

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Robert Williams wrote on 16/09/2015 18:27:
> an even more common scenario is config files that are supposed to just 
> define a bunch of standalone variables, which is a very common 
> pattern. If you’re writing code that relies on those variables, or 
> you’re writing the code that’s supposed to pull that file in to begin 
> with, it’s smart to make sure all the variables actually got set, and 
> if not, display an error to the user to go fix the config. Sometimes, 
> isset() works for this if combined with a null check, but it fails in 
> cases where null is an acceptable value.

OK, that's a reasonable example, though I'd say it's still very much an 
edge case. It requires the following to all be true:

- the config file defines bare variables rather than array or object keys
- the variable in question has null as a valid value
- the variable in question is mandatory, with no default value

I will admit that exists($foo) would be useful in that situation, but it 
doesn't feel to me like such a common or useful scenario that it 
justifies the language changing to suit that design, rather than the 
design changing to suit the language.

Regards,
-- 
Rowan Collins

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