On 08/05/2026 09:44, Tim Düsterhus wrote:
Hi
following Rowan’s request from the earlier “let the "new" operator
fail when the __construct( ) function returns a value” discussion [1],
I have now created a dedicated RFC to deprecate returning values from
__construct() and __destruct().
Please find the RFC text at:
https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate-return-value-from-construct
Hi Tim,
Thanks for writing this up.
In terms of the proposal, I am thoroughly in favour. Deliberate use of a
return value here is rare, and refactoring to use a non-magic helper
method should generally be fairly easy.
It's also in line with restrictions added to other magic methods - e.g.
calling __toString() directly could return any value until 8.0, but it
now acts as though declared with a return type of "string".
In terms of the RFC text, though, I think there should be more than a
"see also" link to the previous RFC at
https://wiki.php.net/rfc/make_ctor_ret_void This went to a vote and was
declined (with a majority in favour, but not the required
super-majority), so I think the new RFC should explain how either a) the
new proposal is different from the old one; or b) the circumstances are
different from when they were last voted.
(I think our policy wording on this [1] probably needs to be tightened
up slightly; as written, it implies that a failed proposal could be
brought to vote unchanged every 6 months, until the author got the
result they wanted.)
[1]
https://github.com/php/policies/blob/main/feature-proposals.rst#resurrecting-rejected-proposals
Regards,
--
Rowan Tommins
[IMSoP]
