Protected static props redeclared as public share value across classes

Marcus Boerger schreef:

Hello Robin,

I checked it out in more detail and it is indeed broken as in it is not
consistent:
[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { protected static $p=1; } class B extends A { protected static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
-> works == 2 properties
-> but should fail because of changed value

[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { protected static $p=1; } class B extends A { public static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
Fatal error: Cannot change initial value of property static protected A::$p in class B in Command line code on line 1

[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { public static $p=1; } class B extends A { protected static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
Fatal error: Access level to B::$p must be public (as in class A) in Command line code on line 1

[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { public static $p=1; } class B extends A { public static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
-> works == 2 properties
-> but should fail becasue of changed value

So we need to fix this.

I don't get the 'but should fail because of changed value' - isn't the changed value akin
to overloading a method - where the body of the method changes (obviously)?

I also surmise that the issue becomes more tricky if you consider late static binding,
which I am assuming is still scheduled for php6, and as such it may be worth holding back
making a fix until it is clearer what the larger ramifications are?

marcus

Monday, January 28, 2008, 4:18:50 PM, you wrote:

Hi Marcus,

Thanks for the prompt reply and explanation. I have some further
questions though:

If the base class had the property defined as private
then the property is private to that specific class and not directly
accessible by derived classes that is it's name gets prefixed with the class
name.. So in:
class A { private static $p; } class B extends A { private static $p; }
we have two different properties:

Understood. But if we have two separate properties for the reason that
A::$p is not visible to B, then how about these cases?
class A { protected static $p; } class B extends A { protected static $p; }
class A { public static $p; } class B extends A { public static $p; }

In both of those cases, A::$p is visible to the derived class, but the
re-declaration results in A::$p and B::$p being two separate
properties (see pastebin.com/fca2cd5b and pastebin.com/f4f94b32d for a
demonstration). This is one of the reasons I find the case where we
end up with only one property value to be surprising.

Another reason is that, as illustrated in my previous post, PHP's
behaviour doesn't seem to correlate with the inheritance rules of
other languages I'm familiar with: you always end up with two distinct
static properties in Java, C++ and C# (though of course I understand
this fact on its own is does not mean PHP is wrong :).

Lastly, with overridden static methods, PHP always yields two distinct
methods, regardless of the visibility modifiers. See
http://pastebin.com/f27f009c4 . Granted, with methods any other
behaviour would be very odd indeed, but it does emphasize an
inconsistency between method and property inheritance rules in PHP.

So for now I continue to feel this is a little strange. Any further
explanations would be greatly appreciated. :)

Thanks,
Robin

Best regards,
Marcus

Best regards,
Marcus

Marcus,

Thanks for looking in more detail.

I checked it out in more detail and it is indeed broken as in it is not
consistent:
[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { protected static $p=1; } class B extends A { protected static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
-> works == 2 properties
-> but should fail because of changed value

[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { protected static $p=1; } class B extends A { public static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
Fatal error: Cannot change initial value of property static protected A::$p in class B in Command line code on line 1

[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { public static $p=1; } class B extends A { protected static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
Fatal error: Access level to B::$p must be public (as in class A) in Command line code on line 1

[marcus@zaphod PHP_5_3]$ php -r 'class A { public static $p=1; } class B extends A { public static $p=2; } ReflectionClass::Export("B");'
-> works == 2 properties
-> but should fail becasue of changed value

So we need to fix this.

I agree with Jochem: I'm not fully confident about the statement 'but
should fail because of changed value', for two reasons:

1. The issues doesn't stop with default values. Consider the case
   below. If we were go with your suggested fix, the parent and child
   class "feel" like they have separate properties, but in fact point to
   the same value. It is imho more natural for the two classes to
   genuinely have separate values. Another alternative would be to forbid
   redeclaring statics with the same visibility modifier altogther
   (default value or no default value), though I would personally be less
   happy with that.

<?php
Class Frog {
public static $colour;
}

Class SpecialFrog extends Frog {
public static $colour;
}

Frog::$colour = 'green';
SpecialFrog::$colour = 'blue';

var_dump(Frog::$colour, SpecialFrog::$colour);
// string(4) "blue"
// string(4) "blue"
?>

2. The suggested fix would create an inconsistency with class
   constants, where it is legal to shadow inherited values:

<?php
Class Frog {
const COLOUR = 'green';
}

Class SpecialFrog extends Frog {
const COLOUR = 'blue';
}

var_dump(Frog::COLOUR, SpecialFrog::COLOUR);
// string(5) "green"
// string(4) "blue"
?>

Many thanks,
Robin