There are naturally 3 states in the engine:
1 - value set
2 - value not set (default `null`)
2 - undefined/uninitialised
These have been around since 5.0 AFAIK.
On Mon, 16 Jul 2018, 16:55 Rowan Collins, <rowan.coll...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 16 July 2018 at 14:28, Marco Pivetta <ocram...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > These don't really need explicit tests in most cases, but rather static
> > analysis (currently happening via docblocks). Static analysis tools like
> > vimeo/psalm already pick this up.
> >
>
>
> Then why do we need the type hints at all?
>
>
>
>
> > I'd even be happy to get type hints that only have effect on
> > `ReflectionProperty#getType()` as a massive improvement over the current
> > situation we've monkey-patched us into, but the patch is indeed
> consistent
> > with PHP's current state.
> >
>
>
> I disagree that it's consistent. It introduces an entirely new kind of null
> reference ("declared but uninitialised"), which will require *more* careful
> checks than forcing the value to be initially null, and will undoubtedly
> further annoy those who already claim that isset() is broken (the RFC
> doesn't even mention it, but I presume uninitialised properties will return
> false from isset(), but throw an error from is_null()).
>
> If all typed properties require a valid default value, the patch is
> simpler, errors are raised at a line where you can fix them, and the
> language remains consistent - if you're promised a Foo, you get a Foo, not
> a "whoops, why isn't there a Foo here?" error.
>
>
> Regards,
> --
> Rowan Collins
> [IMSoP]
>
