Bug #80153 [Nab]: Self return type and ReflectionClass->getReturnType

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=80153&edit=1 ID: 80153 User updated by: spychala dot adam at gmail dot com Reported by: spychala dot adam at gmail dot com Summary: Self return type and ReflectionClass->getReturnType Status: Not a bug Type: Bug Package: Class/Object related Operating System: Ubuntu PHP Version: 7.4.10 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: I'm sorry. Repeated mistake. I thought of 'B' and typed 'A'. I agree with that > If getReturnType() returned "B" then the fact that the method actually is supposed to > return "self" is lost. It should be another method for returning specific return type, because we also miss such information with self/static return types. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-09-26 21:29:35] requinix@php.net > Self is not type in PHP, is keyword. self is most definitely a type. You can use it in every situation I can think of that wants a type: parameter types, return types, instanceof a type, creating a new instance of a type... It is *also* a keyword. > Shouldn't it return then 'A', not 'self'? Like I said before, no. Please read what I said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-09-26 20:38:47] spychala dot adam at gmail dot com Shouldn't it return then 'A', not 'self'? Self is not type in PHP, is keyword. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-09-26 19:33:35] requinix@php.net "self" means self. It does not mean "A" or "B". Which means your expected result is incorrect: B's getSomething needs to return an instance of B, not of A. https://3v4l.org/YLDaH If getReturnType() returned "B" then the fact that the method actually is supposed to return "self" is lost. If you need to know that B::getSomething() must return an instance of B then I suggest: if ($return_type == 'self') { $return_type = 'B'; } ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2020-09-26 11:46:18] spychala dot adam at gmail dot com Description: ------------ There is question on SO regarding return type of class methods which has 'self' return type https://stackoverflow.com/questions/64073093/how-to-get-return-type-of-a-class-method-in-php I think it should return corresponding return type, not self (or in the future static type). Test script: --------------- interface A { public function getSomething(): self; } class B implements A { public function getSomething(): self { return $this; } } print((new ReflectionClass(new B()))->getMethod('getSomething')->getReturnType()); Expected result: ---------------- A Actual result: -------------- self ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=80153&edit=1