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Date: Wed, 11 Nov 2015 02:21:25 +0000
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Subject: Re: Resource typehint and return type
From: ajf@ajf.me (Andrea Faulds)

Hi Ben

Ben Scholzen 'DASPRiD' wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> I just poked up an RFC and a patch for resource typehints and return
> types. I'd really like to hear your thoughts about it!
>
> RFC:
> https://wiki.php.net/rfc/resource_typehint
>
> Patch:
> https://github.com/php/php-src/pull/1631

Anthony's Scalar Type Hinting with Cast RFC originally had a resource 
type hint, but it was later removed, and subsequent RFCs have followed 
its lead in not including a resource typehint.

The reason for this is that the resource type is an anachronism from an 
age in which PHP did not have objects, yet still needed to make certain 
types of data opaque. The resource type is a type that exists only to 
shuffle around C pointers between internal functions. It has no semantic 
value. Because resources are now redundant, given the existence of 
objects, their time is running out, and they will be replaced at some 
point. Adding a type declaration for resource would mean that code using 
it would break if we replace any existing usage of resources with 
objects, preventing migration away from resource.

So, I'm against this RFC.

Thanks.

-- 
Andrea Faulds
http://ajf.me/