Edit report at http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=32100&edit=1
ID: 32100 Comment by: c891652 at bofthew dot com Reported by: ceefour at gauldong dot net Summary: Request 'finally' support for exceptions Status: Closed Type: Feature/Change Request Package: Feature/Change Request Operating System: * PHP Version: 5.* Block user comment: N New Comment: I feel nothing but disappointed that this bug got closed, without "any" reason being written in the comments. I also stand for including "finally". It's a well known Exception Handling control block, and others in this bug have shown clearly why it is needed. Previous Comments: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2010-09-09 09:32:40] 128bitencrypted at gmail dot com I noticed this bug because I have exactly the same problem atm and finally could solve it. I found a great discussion about the "return" problem and how it's solved in java. (IMHO I think that's the right way) stackoverflow dot com/questions/65035/in-java-does-return-trump-finally In PHP it could be implemented like the following: function example1() { try { return "Return\n"; } finally { echo "Finally\n"; } } echo example1(); Output: Finally Return And it's important that finally has the right to overwrite return. (Although I think that there only a few cases where that would be useful) function example2() { try { return "Return wins\n"; } finally { return "Finally wins\n"; } } echo example2(); Output: Finally wins I hope that helps a bit more why finally would be a very useful in php! Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2010-09-09 02:39:42] phplasma at gmail dot com A finally block would indeed be useful, please reconsider. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2010-09-07 17:38:51] michael202 at gmx dot de I also think that try-finally is useful. try catch is no elegant replacement. Just needed it today again. finally is more elegant than an other solution. For example: try { lots o' code if a return .. if b exit .. } finally do somethin } Another solution to the "finally" problem is to use goto. Not so elegant but not a bad thing according to Knuth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2010-08-16 12:42:11] torsten dot landmann at bauermedia dot com I also agree: 'finally' is needed. I really don't get why it has been left out. There is no elegant equivalent, especially so since rethrowing the exception alters file and line number saved in the exception, so later it's hard to find out where it originally came from. Please offer "finally". Don't worry, nobody will be forced to use it. I definitely will. thuejk showed very well how 'finally' helps with keeping your code clean. Or vice versa: How the absence of it often causes the need to copy and paste code (which is always a bad development pattern). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2010-06-27 00:59:16] thuejk at gmail dot com >We've had long discussions and came to the only conclusion that we don't need that, for more search the mailing list archieves. Where is that discussion? I haven't been able to find it. Only people saying that finally is utterly useless, without showing any signs that they have actually considered finally's uses. As the other comments have said, sometimes some code inside a try will allocate a non-php ressource which need to be deallocated whether or not an exception is thrown. To avoid writing that code twice, you need it in finally. Version without finally: try { allocate non-php resource } catch ($ex) { deallocate non-php resource throw $ex; } deallocate non-php resource Version with finally: try { allocate non-php resource } finally { deallocate non-php resource } The finally code is obviously "better". And it is a completely reasonable way to code. Sure you can emulate finally with more code, but so can a Turin Machine. finally is syntactic sugar which makes it easier to write maintainable programs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The remainder of the comments for this report are too long. To view the rest of the comments, please view the bug report online at http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=32100 -- Edit this bug report at http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=32100&edit=1