Bug #81605 [Opn->Dup]: Regression in class loading order when __toString() is implemented

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=81605&edit=1 ID: 81605 Updated by: nikic@php.net Reported by: marco at tremani dot nl Summary: Regression in class loading order when __toString() is implemented -Status: Open +Status: Duplicate Type: Bug Package: Unknown/Other Function Operating System: Windows/Unix PHP Version: 8.0.12 Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: Duplicate of bug #79350. https://www.npopov.com/2021/10/20/Early-binding-in-PHP.html may be helpful as background ;) Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2021-11-10 15:55:39] marco at tremani dot nl Description: ------------ I'm not sure if this can be called a bug, unexpected or undefined behavior - but behavior for the test case below changed in PHP 8.0. The file below "a.php" implements this pattern: 1. include another file "b.php". 2. declare a class. If that class contains a method "__toString()", the class won't be available yet in b.php. I don't know if this is the direct cause or merely a symptom of compiler behavior. The example is a bit contrived but it demonstrates the changed behavior clearly. It was encountered and extracted when upgrading a legacy php library (nusoap). Test script: --------------- File: a.php ``` <?php include('b.php'); class a { public function __toString() { return ''; } } ``` File: b.php ``` <?php var_dump(class_exists('a')); ``` Expected result: ---------------- > php a.php bool(true) Actual result: -------------- On PHP 7.4: bool(true) On PHP 8.0: bool(false) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=81605&edit=1