# [VOTE] nullsafe operator RFC - Thread: https://externals.io/message/111061 - Original archive: https://news-web.php.net/php.internals/111061 - Started by Ilija Tovilo on 2020-07-17T09:04:41+00:00 - Messages: 8 - Reply by email to internals@lists.php.net - More for agents: search with https://externals.io/search.md?q={query} · JSON API at https://externals.io/api · documentation at https://externals.io/llms.txt --- ## #111061 — Ilija Tovilo — 2020-07-17T09:04:41+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111061 Hi internals I started the vote on the nullsafe operator RFC. https://wiki.php.net/rfc/nullsafe_operator The vote closes on 2020-07-31. Ilija --- ## #111062 — Dan Ackroyd — 2020-07-17T09:15:48+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111062 · In reply to: #111061 > > Hi internals > > I started the vote on the nullsafe operator RFC. > https://wiki.php.net/rfc/nullsafe_operator > > The vote closes on 2020-07-31. I'm voting yes. From the discussions I've seen, there are two overlapping reasons people have said for why they don't like this proposal. "checking that the value is null should be a red flag that something is wrong with the data model." Even if there is something wrong with the data model, programmers are often in a position where they can't change the data model. That can be because it's part of an api/library that's provided by a 3rd party, or is part of a legacy code base that can't be refactored right now. PHP exists to be useful. Adding a small feature that makes it easier to work with some data models is a useful thing to do. But also, sometimes the data just is null. Whether you use a null type, a type union, Option, a Nothing-type or whatever, it's got to be handled somewhere. This RFC provides a way of handling it in a way that is very easy to write and read, imo. I realise that some people would prefer to not use this syntax in their own code, which is fine. But as it makes coding easier for other people, I hope people would only vote no for a stronger reason than they would personally prefer not to use it. cheers Dan Ack --- ## #111274 — Ilija Tovilo — 2020-07-31T08:58:24+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111274 · In reply to: #111061 Hi internals > I started the vote on the nullsafe operator RFC. > https://wiki.php.net/rfc/nullsafe_operator I'm happy to announce that the RFC was accepted with 56 votes in favor and 2 votes against. Thanks to everybody who participated! Ilija --- ## #111379 — Nikita Popov — 2020-08-08T20:10:13+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111379 · In reply to: #111274 On Fri, Jul 31, 2020 at 10:59 AM Ilija Tovilo wrote: > Hi internals > > > […] > > I'm happy to announce that the RFC was accepted with 56 votes in favor > and 2 votes against. Thanks to everybody who participated! > > Ilija > I just noticed that while we support "$a->b", we do not support "$a?->b" (the quotes are relevant -- I'm talking about interpolated strings here). That is, in the latter case the "?->b" is just treated like a string part, not like a property access. I don't think the behavior for this case has been discussed and I'm not sure what the intended behavior here is. Nikita --- ## #111380 — Ilija Tovilo — 2020-08-08T20:34:23+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111380 · In reply to: #111379 Hi Nikita > > […] > > I just noticed that while we support "$a->b", we do not support "$a?->b" (the quotes are relevant -- I'm talking about interpolated strings here). That is, in the latter case the "?->b" is just treated like a string part, not like a property access. > > I don't think the behavior for this case has been discussed and I'm not sure what the intended behavior here is. I missed that one. There's a test for var_dump("{$null?->foo}"); but not one without the braces. I would classify this as a bug and expect this to behave the same as -> (but not erroring on null obviously). Worth noting that chaining won't work as it doesn't work for -> either. Sara/Gabriel, What do you think? Should we fix this? I'm assuming this will only require a change in the grammar but I haven't checked yet. Ilija --- ## #111382 — Ilija Tovilo — 2020-08-08T20:42:36+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111382 · In reply to: #111380 Hi again > > […] > > I missed that one. There's a test for var_dump("{$null?->foo}"); but > not one without the braces. I would classify this as a bug and expect > this to behave the same as -> (but not erroring on null obviously). > Worth noting that chaining won't work as it doesn't work for -> > either. > > Sara/Gabriel, What do you think? Should we fix this? I'm assuming this > will only require a change in the grammar but I haven't checked yet. Just as I sent this I realized this is technically a breaking change, probably a small one but still worth mentioning. I'm now also not totally sure if we should change it at this point. Let me know what you think. Ilija --- ## #111384 — Sara Golemon — 2020-08-08T22:24:29+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111384 · In reply to: #111382 > > […] > "$a?->b" (the quotes are relevant -- I'm talking about interpolated strings > here). That is, in the latter case the "?->b" is just treated like a string > part, not like a property access. > > […] > not sure what the intended behavior here is. > > […] > > Just as I sent this I realized this is technically a breaking change, > probably a small one but still worth mentioning. I'm now also not > totally sure if we should change it at this point. Let me know what > you think. > > Hah! And just as I sent my previous message, I noticed you started THIS thread before asking me about it elsewhere. Circles.... Anyway, IMO this comes under bugfix. By all means fix it up. :D -Sara --- ## #111385 — tyson andre — 2020-08-09T00:03:02+00:00 URL: https://externals.io/message/111061#111385 · In reply to: #111382 Hi Ilija Tovilo, > > […] > > Just as I sent this I realized this is technically a breaking change, > probably a small one but still worth mentioning. I'm now also not > totally sure if we should change it at this point. Let me know what > you think. To me, that sounds like a reasonable bugfix for 8.0 and something most applications wouldn't be using before php 8.0. I'd missed whether the RFC mentioned it or not. - Tyson