Re: RFC: C-sharp style property get/set syntax for PHP

>>> How does one get a reference to a property, if a property is just a >> collection >>> of methods with fancy behavior? That makes properties a first class >> entity, >>> which is an entirely different bit of brain bending. >> >> Its the same concept as having a reference to a function, where you can >> invoke the reference and it invokes the function. I say that as a >> programming concept, not a PHP concept, because I am a bit fuzzy in the >> "function reference" department of PHP. > > I don't believe PHP has function references per se. It has the ability > to call functions dynamically by either: > > $function = 'foo'; > $function(); > // or > call_user_func[_array]('foo'); > > (The former is faster so preferred if you have a fixed number of > variables.) Right, that is what I thought. > Functions are not first-class entities in PHP the way they are in, say, > Javascript so you can't pass them around, nor do you have "function > pointers" as you do in C. (My god those are a nightmare to code...) > > PHP 5.3 introduced anonymous functions/closures, which seem at first > blush to be sort of like that. However, I believe the internal > implementation is done using objects and you can mimic that behavior on > an object using an interface, so really functions still don't have a > first-class status but are emulated using objects. (I'm sure one of the > compiler people can correct me if that's not entirely accurate.) Ah that is interesting then. >> So is the solution then to make the set method return by reference? Or >> does that just create more problems? > > I'm not sure. I'm just pointing out that "behaves like class members" > is a substantially more complex scenario than it seems at first blush, > and we need to think through the implications of that and just how > closely we can emulate properties. I completely agree. > > The basic Idea of a property, is making a getFoo() / setFoo($value) > pair > > of methods look and act like a variable from the outside, and have an > > easily identifiable and simple to use syntax on the inside. The reason > I > > originally focused so much around methods, is because properties > literally > > are a pair of methods in C# (thats what they are compiled into). But > PHP > > is another beast, and the challenges are different. As long as the > > original purpose of properties is not loss, whatever way we figure out > is > > best to implement them is fine with me. > > The "original purpose" being, specifically, "smarter class members", > correct? (The internal syntax to define them we can bikeshed later; > determining the external syntax and semantics has to come first.) Well when saying "original purpose" I was referring to exactly this: "The basic Idea of a property, is making a getFoo() / setFoo($value) pair of methods look and act like a variable from the outside, and have an easily identifiable and simple to use syntax on the inside." But I suppose you could just boil that down to "smarter class members" ;) - Dennis