Re: [VOTE] "Array Of" v Generics

On Fri, Jan 24, 2014 at 11:20 AM, Philip Sturgeon <pjsturgeon@gmail.com>wrote: > In recent discussions we were weighing up the options of array of and > generics came into conversation, brought forward from the Hack > language by Sara G. > > I was wrong about one thing: Generics CAN have setup outside of the > type-hint, much like a collection, but it is not required. I thought > it was. > > This means that array of could easily be considered "weak-generics" > and the two features can share the same syntax without confusion to > the user. A few of you said that, so sorry that I disagreed. ;) > > > Before we worry too much about that, the logical next question is: > > Is there any interest in generics? If there is interest, then one > syntax would be preferable over the other. > > With the existing proposed syntax for "array of", it looks like this: > > function(Spanner[] $spanner) > > Evolving that same syntax into generics would look something like this: > > $tool = new Spanner[]; > $tool = new int[]; > > That would be... less than ideal, but its nice and simple for the type > hints. > > Using the generics syntax for... generics: > > function(array<Spanner> $spanner) > $tool = array<Spanner>(); > > Obviously angle-brackets are a bit new, but that same syntax works for > both. > > > These examples are provided to make a point, and the syntax is not > definite. The point here really is that If we care about generics, > then using generic-like syntax for this feature probably makes sense. > If we don't care about generics, then there is probably no point using > this more verbose syntax for simple "array of" type-hinting, but the > syntax could still easily change. > > Can you lot vote A, B, C or D to show your interest? > > A) I want Array Of, but not Generics > B) I want Generics, but not Array Of > C) I want both > D) I want neither > Or you could finish up the "array of" proposal and put that to a vote. If accepted, then A) or C) applies. If not accepted, then B) or D) applies :) > > Nothing really binding here, its more of a survey than a vote, but it > should help with the next steps. > > -- > PHP Internals - PHP Runtime Development Mailing List > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php > > -- -- Tjerk