Re: [RFC] Using objects as keys

> On 27 Oct 2014, at 06:36, Stas Malyshev <smalyshev@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi! > >> It seems __toScalar might be a good name, this is what the method >> actually does, the engine then coerces to a type suitable for use as a >> key, but you can return a double. It might be more forward thinking >> therefore to use the name __toScalar, while today we'd only be using >> it for this, > __toScalar does not express the fact why we are calling it - to use it > as a key. It's not just a scalar conversion, it's conversion for the > purpose of hashing. It would also be used by Anthony’s Object Cast To Types (https://wiki.php.net/rfc/object_cast_to_types) RFC if revived, and __toScalar makes more sense there. Personally, I think __toKey is best. It’s not a hash as such, it’s an equivalent string or integer key value. It fits nicely with __toString, and would fit with other __to* functions like __toInt if that RFC was revived. People would look at __hash and think it’s sql_object_hash, which it isn’t. -- Andrea Faulds http://ajf.me/