[Proposal] Struct Data Types

Hey all, I'm looking to get feedback on a RFC I want to propose. PHP RFC: Addition of the 'struct' data type. Introduction: PHP has many data types, but does not offer something that is the equivalent to the C struct data type. The purpose of this RFC is to propose a data type of 'struct', which would be a strictly typed, immutable data structure that resembles a mix of a class and an array. Pros: Provides a data type which would immutable and self-validating by mandatory type hinting. Cons: ? Possible future considerations: Advanced Type Validators. Use cases: Configurations, DTOs, anything that needs a strict schema. Proposed usage / syntax: struct MyStuct {

    boolean|bool              'prop01';
    integer|int               'prop02';
    double                    'prop03';
    string                    'prop04';
    array                     'prop05';
    object                    'prop06';
    resource                  'prop07';
    callable                  'prop08';
    iterable                  'prop09';
    Acme\MyClass              'prop10';
    Acme\ConfStruct           'prop11';
    array Acme\AnotherStruct  'prop12';
    ?boolean|bool             'prop13';
    ?integer|int              'prop14';
    ?double                   'prop15';
    ?string                   'prop16';
    ?array                    'prop17';
    ?object                   'prop18';
    ?resource                 'prop19';
    ?callable                 'prop20';
    ?iterable                 'prop21';
    ?Acme\MyClass             'prop22';
    ?Acme\ConfStruct          'prop23';
    ?array Acme\AnotherStruct 'prop24';

} OR? struct MyStuct {

    'prop01': boolean|bool;
    'prop02': integer|int;
    'prop03': float;
    'prop04': string;
    'prop05': array;
    'prop06': object;
    'prop07': resource;
    'prop08': callable;
    'prop09': iterable;
    'prop10': Acme\MyClass;
    'prop11': Acme\ConfStruct;
    'prop12': array Acme\AnotherStruct;
    'prop13': ?boolean|bool;
    'prop14': ?integer|int;
    'prop15': ?float;
    'prop16': ?string;
    'prop17': ?array;
    'prop18': ?object;
    'prop19': ?resource;
    'prop20': ?callable;
    'prop21': ?iterable;
    'prop22': ?Acme\MyClass;
    'prop23': ?Acme\ConfStruct;
    'prop24': ?array Acme\AnotherStruct;

} struct Acme\ConfStruct {

    string 'host';
    ?int 'port';

} struct Acme\AnotherStruct {

    string 'firstName';
    string 'lastName';
    ?integer 'age';

} Acme\ConfStruct $a = {

    'host' => '127.0.0.1',
    'port' => 8088

} Acme\MyStruct $myStruct = {

    'prop01' => true,
    'prop02' => 1,
    'prop03' => 1.01,
    'prop04' => 'Hello',
    'prop05' => ['a', 'b', 'c'],
    'prop06' => new stdClass(),
    'prop07' => fopen('xyz.txt', 'wb'),
    'prop08' => function() {
                return 1 + 1;
              },
    'prop09' => [
        [1, 2, 3],
        [4, 5, 6],
        [7, 8, 9]
    ],
    'prop10' => new Acme\MyClass,
    'prop11' => $a,
    'prop12' => [
        Acme\AnotherStruct [
            'firstName' => 'Bob',
            'lastName'  => 'Walker'
        ],
        Acme\AnotherStruct [
            'firstName' => 'Little',
            'lastName'  => 'Johnny',
            'age'       => 5
        ],
    ],
    'prop13' => null,
    'prop14' => null,
    'prop15' => null,
    'prop16' => null,
    'prop17' => null,
    'prop18' => null,
    'prop19' => null,
    'prop20' => null,
    'prop21' => null,
    'prop22' => null,
    'prop23' => null,
    'prop24' => null

}; $x = new Some\Other\Class($myStruct); echo $myStruct['prop02']; OR? echo $myStruct->prop02; Warning / Errors / Exceptions: Acme\MyStruct $a = {

    'prop01' => 5,
    ...

} // Should: throw new TypeError("'prop01' should be set as a boolean type, integer type was attempted.") echo $a['xyz']; // or echo $a->xyz (which ever is the preferred syntax after comments). // Should: trigger_error("<b>Notice</b>: Undefined property: Acme\MyStruct::xyz"); https://github.com/ellisgl/PHP-RFC-Struct-Data-Type