Edit report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=61467&edit=1

 ID:                 61467
 User updated by:    david at grudl dot com
 Reported by:        david at grudl dot com
 Summary:            New "callable" typehint does not work (autoloading)
 Status:             Not a bug
 Type:               Bug
 Package:            Class/Object related
 PHP Version:        5.4.0
 Block user comment: N
 Private report:     N

 New Comment:

1) "Yes, something other than a string was expected." Really? What exactly is 
expected? When a string points to something that _is_ callable, then it is not 
a string? 

call_user_func('xxx') triggers error 'expects parameter 1 to be a valid 
callback, function 'xxx' not found or invalid function name' which is perfectly 
understandable. Why the same function with typehint callable will not trigger 
the same error message? It will trigger 'Argument 1 passed to call_user_funct() 
must be callable, string given', which says that I shouldn't use the string. 
And that's not simply true.

2) I would totally agree with you, if PHP was static language. But PHP is 
dynamic language and it makes sense to have stored in the variable name of 
class/function that has not yet been loaded. And most importantly: the life 
cycle of PHP is a single HTTP request, lazy loading is very important for good 
performance.


Previous Comments:
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[2012-03-24 23:41:57] jan at skrasek dot com

There is no logic to check is_callable by typehint - these typehint is useless, 
brings no new functionality. The only one possibile benefit is just check 
validity of the callback structure, not the callabality self.

> A callable isn't a basic type like a string.
So, this typehint behaves differently than others. Yeah, so you prefer to mix 
things together and make php much more chaotic.
> This is what most users expect when they check if something is callable.
Some research available? Or just empty words?

>From my point of view php is heading to hell by making these type of 
>shortcuts. Yes, we are lazy programmers, but there is no need to rewrite if 
>(is_callable(..)) as a typehint.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2012-03-23 23:47:03] ras...@php.net

1) Yes, something other than a string was expected. When a string points to 
something that isn't a callable function, then it is just a string, so I 
consider the message correct.

2) Yes, I consider it correct. A callable isn't a basic type like a string. It 
has to have a couple of characteristics, one of which is being actually 
callable 
which you can't know unless you check. This is what most users expect when they 
check if something is callable. If something just looks like a callable 
function 
and it isn't, then you end up with an uncatchable fatal when you try to call 
it, 
so knowing that something looks like it might be a callable function isn't very 
useful to most. They want to write robust code and catch any errors and that 
can 
only be done if we check for the existence of the callable function which is 
why 
it is the default.

And your example with array just reinforces this. An array typehint fully 
checks 
if an array is an array because it is a simple type that has no other 
characteristics. An array can't pass the array typehint and then fatal out when 
you try to use it as an array.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2012-03-23 19:34:44] david at grudl dot com

Rasmus we're talking about two different things:

1) Error message "Must be callable, string given" means, that something other 
than string was expected. Do you agree? I think current message is confusing.

2) The behavior of typehint is subjective, of course. But it would be nice if 
you could consider, if it is really correct. We are talking about "type hint" - 
and checking of validity of a *type*. 

Type hint "array" means that the argument must be array. It's just about the 
type. Validity of array must be checked by function itself. The type hint 
"callable" I expect checks if argument is valid callable type (valid syntax), 
nothing more.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2012-03-23 13:35:48] ras...@php.net

Well, that's a very subjective thing. callable matches the default behaviour of 
is_callable(). In most cases when you pass a callable it is going to get 
called. 
If you want to implement lazy loading it is simple enough to do an is_callable 
syntax-check only in your method itself. The default had to be set to one or 
the 
other and we tend to set things to the common use case.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2012-03-23 12:55:09] david at grudl dot com

I understand its behavior, but I think it is wrong. Callable shouldn't check 
the existence of class, but only check argument is a syntactically correct. 
Otherwise it makes lazy-loading impossible. Not every callback is called. 

In addition, the non-existence of class results in confusing error message: 
"must be callable, string given". So "A::b" is not callable?

------------------------------------------------------------------------


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

    https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=61467


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