Req #62162 [Com]: Autoloading for namespaces

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=62162&edit=1 ID: 62162 Comment by: rpycka at gmail dot com Reported by: lcfsoft at gmail dot com Summary: Autoloading for namespaces Status: Open Type: Feature/Change Request Package: *General Issues PHP Version: 5.4.4RC1 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: I would also like to see this feature, especially in the context of function autoloading and procedural programming. 1) It would make PP in PHP way more pleasant & effective (no need to spam guards like require_once, no need for indirect dispatchers, obviously, not loading code you don't need for particular request). For a language that grew on procedural programming paradigm it's a shame development in this area has been stalled for so many years (afair nothing have changed since 4 in this regard). 2) There is a lot of code that could profit, e.g. Drupal. 3) Hacking with classes has its cons, eg. performance (what would be relative difference between direct function call vs static method call and indirect (callbacks)?). 4) How hard can it be? Checking for registered callback and running the procedure before firing error. Proposed interface by shiranai7 at hotmail dot com looks ok. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-05-28 18:24:24] shiranai7 at hotmail dot com lcfsoft at gmail dot com, >>> Zend_Crypt_Math_BigInteger_Bcmath, because, you see, the functionality is IDENTICAL to >>> what we have with Zend\Crypt\Math\BigInteger\Bcmath now. Yes, namespaces were introduced as a better alternative to ugly identifier prefixes. But this has nothing to do with "autoloading functions". -- My point is that this approach is rather unusual. Bunch of class-less functions defined in a file is like pre-php 5 procedural code. Of course I am in no position to tell anyone what is the correct way to organise their code or even decide whether this will get eventually implemented or not. My proposal for this would be something like: spl_function_autoload_register( callback(function) ) and spl_constant_autoload_register( callback(constant) ) or spl_ns_autoload_register( callback(namespace, property ,type) ) But still - weird, mostly useless and overkill to implement just because someone does not like :: in his identifier. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-05-28 16:56:10] lcfsoft at gmail dot com shiranai7 at hotmail dot com, If your mindset towards this problem was valid we wouldn't need to have namespaces introduced and implemented in the first place. We would all be fine with those Zend_Crypt_Math_BigInteger_Bcmath, because, you see, the functionality is IDENTICAL to what we have with Zend\Crypt\Math\BigInteger\Bcmath now. If I need to make an abstract static class's method instead of a function to achieve something - it's nothing but a hack. It may work, it may work the same way - but it's a hack. So yes, I really do need that "\" instead of "::". >> You cannot expect anything to be loaded just by an "use" statement. It just defines a local alias for a class or namespace. The classes get loaded only when they are actually used. What you said here, however, is correct. So, yes, it may not be so trivial as adding another line of code. But it's important I believe. Why limit PHP developers to classes? If you want to know why we shouldn't - check out any other decent programming language e.g. Python. Yes, autoloading for classes exclusively might work before as we didn't have any sort of namespaces/packages AT ALL - but now we do and this should be revisited. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-05-28 16:23:58] shiranai7 at hotmail dot com lcfsoft at gmail dot com, You cannot expect anything to be loaded just by an "use" statement. It just defines a local alias for a class or namespace. The classes get loaded only when they are actually used. Based on your example I think that you are looking for a way to "autoload functions". While it could possibly be handy in your case, I dont think it will ever be an actual feature. It is not even possible to import a function or constant through the "use" statement, so why this? Using an abstract class is not "hacking around" in this case. Why do you need to do this: dispatching\dispatch(...); if you can do this? dispatching::dispatch(...); The functionality is IDENTICAL, with added bonus of possible autoloading. Do you really need that \ instead of :: ? That is the only actual difference. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-05-28 15:31:07] lcfsoft at gmail dot com shiranai7 at hotmail dot com, why would I use a class if I don't need a class? Anyway, ways to hack around are well know. The idea here is that we wouldn't need to "hack around". Since we have namespaces - it can be done. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2012-05-28 14:44:46] shiranai7 at hotmail dot com I cannot imagine any "valid" use case for this. Autoloading is designated for classes only (that may happen to be located in a namespace). If you need autoloading functionality for group of functions, put them as static methods inside an abstract class. Example: -------- namespace MyFramework\MVC; abstract class Dispatching { static public function myFunc() { ... } // etc } -------- Then you can take advantage of the autoloading. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The remainder of the comments for this report are too long. To view the rest of the comments, please view the bug report online at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=62162 -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=62162&edit=1