Bug #72817 [Com]: array null index silently casts to empty string

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=72817&edit=1 ID: 72817 Comment by: php at abiusx dot com Reported by: php at abiusx dot com Summary: array null index silently casts to empty string Status: Open Type: Bug Package: Variables related Operating System: OS X 10.11 PHP Version: 7.0.9 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: $a[false]=5 is equal to $a[0]=5 and $a[true]=5 is equal to $a[1]=5 so why $a[null]=5 is $a[""]=5? Why do we even allow empty string indexes in an array!? Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2016-08-11 20:39:19] php at abiusx dot com Description: ------------ Accessing an array will a null index is equal to accessing it with an empty string index, which is non-trivial and cause of many errors in applications. When a developer writes $a[$index]=5; They typically expect $index to be an index (regardless of type) and not null. But if it is null, the command still works and is equal to: $a[""]=5; //same as $a[null]=5; There is no trivial reason why null should cast to empty string, rather than say 0 or any other equivalent form. And this behavior typically should cause warnings or notices (although it breaks BC). Test script: --------------- $a=[]; $a[]=4; $a[null]=5; $a[]=6; var_dump($a); Expected result: ---------------- E_NOTICE, E_WARNING or $a[0]=5, but not $a[""]=5 Actual result: -------------- array(4) { [0]=> int(4) [""]=> int(5) [1]=> int(6) [2]=> int(7) } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=72817&edit=1