> On Jun 24, 2024, at 3:31 AM, Robert Landers <landers.rob...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > There's no need to use `?` to check for existence on a key, so this: > > $arr is ['a' => string, ?'b' => string, ...]; > > should be this: > > $arr is ['a' => string, 'b' => ?string, ...]; > > because $arr['non-existent-key'] is NULL. >
The first means b is an optional key, but if it’s there, can only be a string. The second says b is a required key, but it may be a string or null. If there were a binding involved, that determines the type of the binding in incompatible ways. I’m fine with requiring bindings to be nullable for optional keys, but it strikes me as strictly less flexible and not consistent with the rest of PHP’s behavior, at least not under E_ALL. (Sorry for any dups. juggling sender addresses to make the listserv happy, fixed an incomplete thought while I was at it) Cheers, chuck
