On 3/23/2025 11:10 AM, Larry Garfield wrote:
I'm not sure it justifies a new pseudo-function language construct.
Fair enough. Thank you for the feedback.
On 3/23/2025 2:37 PM, Rowan Tommins [IMSoP] wrote:
It's telling that all your examples with ?? put a value other than
null on the right-hand side.
I may have over-simplified the examples. Comparing $input === 'yes'
will have the same result whether $input is null or 'none' or an empty
string. So not implying a result type, just want to compare a literal
or other variable to $input even when not declared.
A different example could be if (coalesce($_POST['tick']) > 10) return;
In my experience, a lot of people struggle to follow logic like this,
and it can easily lead to subtle bugs. Compare the same logic with
explicit defaults:
if (nullc($test, 'off') === 'on')
if (nullc($test, 'on') !== 'off')
Having optional defaults seems fine. Meanwhile...
if ($test ?? 'on' !== 'on') will evaluate to true when $test is set to 'on'.
There is a small risk that some people might have an existing function
with different behaviour, e.g. a test on "emptiness" with `$arg !=
false`, and need to rename it when upgrading PHP.
This is a good point. I assume that risk exists for all new functions
and needs to be considered.
I'm still only lukewarm on including it, because it's mostly just
reminding you to include a pair of parentheses:
Think of it as a quick way to use an undeclared variable without having
to explain operator precedence to other developers.
In any case, thank you for the feedback.
