I've discovered that several native string functions offer a character mask as a parameter.
I've laid out my observations at https://stackoverflow.com/q/72865138/2943403 In a nutshell, not all character masks offer ranges via "double dot" syntax. Or should I refer to ".." as the "string spread operator" to avoid naming conflict with "..." -- the better known "spread operator" (array spread operator)? Rowan/@IMSoP informed me that the current division between the haves and the have-nots appears to be based on the source language from which PHP pulled. Essentially, if from C, the double dot does not represent a range. https://chat.stackoverflow.com/transcript/11?m=54864842#54864842 Character ranges are not yet supported for: - strcspn() - strpbrk() - strspn() Before I fire off an RFC, I would like to know: 1. Are there any reasonable objections to consistently implementing character range expressions for all character masks? 2. Are there any native functions that I did not mention my Stack Overflow answer? 3. Is it true that only single-byte characters can be used in all scenarios? If so, must it remain that way? 4. Is there already an official or widely-used term that I should be using for the two-dot operator? I should also mention that I initially considered requesting that all character mask parameters be named $mask (instead of $separators, $token, or $characters), but I later resigned to the fact that changing to a name that describes the texture of the string would remove the more vital/intuitive purpose of the string. I suppose the best that can be done to inform developers is to explicitly mention in the documentation when character range expressions are implemented and demonstrate their usage in an example (not just as a user comment at the bottom; this isn't In-N-Out Burger -- put your offerings on the frickin' menu!). mickmackusa
