Doc #78785 [Opn->Csd]: class.ReflectionType page should mention ReflectionNamedType for convenience

Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=78785&edit=1 ID: 78785 Updated by: git@php.net Reported by: eric at ericstern dot com Summary: class.ReflectionType page should mention ReflectionNamedType for convenience -Status: Open +Status: Closed Type: Documentation Problem Package: Reflection related Operating System: n/a PHP Version: Irrelevant Block user comment: N Private report: N New Comment: Automatic comment on behalf of cmb69 Revision: https://github.com/php/doc-en/commit/b54e6443e29d0d77ae93d70f98b5c38e93b95b8a Log: Fix #78785: ReflectionType page should mention subclasses Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2019-11-06 01:08:36] requinix@php.net ReflectionType is meant as the base class it is, which means the proper procedure for dealing with values is to test for possible subtypes and react accordingly. Currently ReflectionNamedType is the only subtype, and last I knew it is always used and never ReflectionType itself, so if you were lazy you could skip the hassle and just assume it, but the hierarchy exists so that it can be expanded upon in the future (thinking about unioned types) without having to retcon anything (coughexceptions). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2019-11-06 00:45:25] eric at ericstern dot com Actually, that does seem like the case. I followed the docs from ReflectionFunctionAbstract->getReturnType() and wasn't aware that the subclass existed. When actually running the code, I simply guessed at a couple of names that might work based on the other Reflection APIs, and getName() happened to work. If that's the case, it would be beneficial to expand the docs around that area - as it stands now, the examples are relying on the deprecated functionality (https://www.php.net/manual/en/reflectionfunctionabstract.getreturntype.php), and it's not clear when (or even if) the base ReflectionType would be returned and not ReflectionNamedType. At best, this means having to add additional instanceof checks to code working with these APIs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2019-11-05 23:42:48] requinix@php.net I don't see anything to suggest ReflectionType::getName() exists. Are you thinking of ReflectionNamedType::getName()? https://www.php.net/manual/en/reflectionnamedtype.getname.php ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2019-11-05 23:35:13] eric at ericstern dot com Description: ------------ --- From manual page: https://php.net/class.reflectiontype --- As of 7.1.0, ReflectionType::__toString() has been deprecated. There appears to be a getName() method which functions as a replacement, but it is both completely undocumented and not even visible by use of the reflection APIs. The getName() method either should be documented (another bug suggests it was intentionally removed), or a suitable equivalent should be exposed and documented. As it is, the ReflectionType class is completely useless without having some way to access the type it represents. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Edit this bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=78785&edit=1