Req #76613 [Sus]: Argument unpacking: Add support for associative arrays

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=76613&edit=1 ID: 76613 Updated by: requinix@php.net Reported by: nowm at yandex dot ru Summary: Argument unpacking: Add support for associative arrays Status: Suspended Type: Feature/Change Request Package: Arrays related Operating System: any PHP Version: 5.6.36 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: Whether or not such code would be broken is a matter for the implementation of named arguments, but at a minimum has nothing to do with array unpacking. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-07-12 03:54:11] nowm at yandex dot ru > so that if/when named arguments are supported, unpacking can be supported without breaking > backwards compatibility But backward compatibility already will be broken in any case, because, for example, the "call_user_func_array" function allows associative arrays. So when (or if) named arguments are supported, a lot of code will be broken. I saw a lot of code that using associative arrays in the "call_user_func_array". <?php // It works! call_user_func_array('var_dump', ['a' => 1, 'b' => 'two']); ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-07-12 03:04:53] requinix@php.net > an associative array is the ideal fit for named arguments unpacking, am I wrong? You're right, it would be good for named arguments. Which is why the current version of unpacking specifically does not allow it, so that if/when named arguments are supported, unpacking can be supported without breaking backwards compatibility. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-07-12 03:00:09] nowm at yandex dot ru requinix, but an associative array is the ideal fit for named arguments unpacking, am I wrong? <?php $string = 'some string'; htmlspecialchars(...['string' => $string, 'double_encode' => false]); Anyway, thank you for the review, even if the request was suspended. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-07-12 02:38:07] requinix@php.net > In order to ensure forward-compatibility with named arguments the unpacking operator does not > support string keys. That particular RFC is no longer active but the feature as a whole still has its proponents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2018-07-12 02:09:00] nowm at yandex dot ru Description: ------------ This request is related to any PHP 5.6+ When you pass an associative array for argument unpacking (https://wiki.php.net/rfc/argument_unpacking), you get a fatal error, "Cannot unpack array with string keys". As I see, there are no reasons to limit unpacking to only numeric arrays. For example, it does not use numeric keys for ordering values, so key type has no any sense: <?php $array = [1 => 'b', 2 => 'c', 0 => 'a']; // Outputs "b c a", not "a b c" // It shows that array unpacking does not rely on keys at all var_dump(...$array); Test script: --------------- <?php $array = ['a' => 'one', 'b' => 'two', 'c' => 'three']; var_dump(...$array); Expected result: ---------------- string(3) "one" string(3) "two" string(5) "three" Actual result: -------------- PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Cannot unpack array with string keys in Standard input code:5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=76613&edit=1