[PHP-DEV] Character range syntax ".." for character masks
On Monday, July 25, 2022, Guilliam Xavier wrote: > On Sat, Jul 9, 2022 at 1:56 AM mickmackusa wrote: > >> I've discovered that several native string functions offer a character >> mask >> as a parameter. >> >> I've laid out my observations at >> https://stackoverflow.com/q/72865138/2943403 >> > > Out of curiosity, why do you say that strtr() is "not a good candidate > because character order matters" (although you give a reasonable example)? > Maybe you have some counter-example? > > Regards, > > -- > Guilliam Xavier > I prefer to keep my scope very tight when posting on Stack Overflow. My focus was purely on enabling character range syntax for native functions with character mask parameters. My understanding of character masks in PHP requires single-byte characters and no meaning to character order. When strtr() is fed two strings, they cannot be considered "character masks" because the character orders matter. If extending character range syntax to parameters which are not character masks, I might support the feature for strtr(), but ensuring that the two strings are balanced will be made more difficult with ranged syntax. strtr() will silently condone imbalanced strings. https://3v4l.org/PY15F
Re: [PHP-DEV] Character range syntax ".." for character masks
On Sat, Jul 9, 2022 at 1:56 AM mickmackusa wrote: > I've discovered that several native string functions offer a character mask > as a parameter. > > I've laid out my observations at > https://stackoverflow.com/q/72865138/2943403 > Out of curiosity, why do you say that strtr() is "not a good candidate because character order matters" (although you give a reasonable example)? Maybe you have some counter-example? Regards, -- Guilliam Xavier
Re: [PHP-DEV] Character range syntax ".." for character masks
Note that the "..." operator is unary, so there is no syntax conflict when using two floats: ``` echo 0...1; // 00.1 ``` However, in the case of the ".." operator, it is assumed to be a binary operator, so problems with grammar ambiguity may arise: ``` echo 0 ..1; // 00.1 echo 0.. 1; // 01 ``` * Note: The syntax you suggest is widely used in at least Ruby ( https://ruby-doc.org/core-2.5.1/Range.html ) and CoffeeScript. * Note: There is also a `trim`, `ltrim` and `rtrim` functions >Суббота, 9 июля 2022, 2:56 +03:00 от mickmackusa : > >I've discovered that several native string functions offer a character mask >as a parameter. > >I've laid out my observations at >https://stackoverflow.com/q/72865138/2943403 > >In a nutshell, not all character masks offer ranges via "double dot" >syntax. Or should I refer to ".." as the "string spread operator" to avoid >naming conflict with "..." -- the better known "spread operator" (array >spread operator)? > >Rowan/@IMSoP informed me that the current division between the haves and >the have-nots appears to be based on the source language from which PHP >pulled. Essentially, if from C, the double dot does not represent a range. >https://chat.stackoverflow.com/transcript/11?m=54864842#54864842 > >Character ranges are not yet supported for: >- strcspn() >- strpbrk() >- strspn() > >Before I fire off an RFC, I would like to know: > >1. Are there any reasonable objections to consistently implementing >character range expressions for all character masks? >2. Are there any native functions that I did not mention my Stack Overflow >answer? >3. Is it true that only single-byte characters can be used in all >scenarios? If so, must it remain that way? >4. Is there already an official or widely-used term that I should be using >for the two-dot operator? > >I should also mention that I initially considered requesting that all >character mask parameters be named $mask (instead of $separators, $token, >or $characters), but I later resigned to the fact that changing to a name >that describes the texture of the string would remove the more >vital/intuitive purpose of the string. I suppose the best that can be done >to inform developers is to explicitly mention in the documentation when >character range expressions are implemented and demonstrate their usage in >an example (not just as a user comment at the bottom; this isn't In-N-Out >Burger -- put your offerings on the frickin' menu!). > >mickmackusa -- Kirill Nesmeyanov
[PHP-DEV] Character range syntax ".." for character masks
I've discovered that several native string functions offer a character mask as a parameter. I've laid out my observations at https://stackoverflow.com/q/72865138/2943403 In a nutshell, not all character masks offer ranges via "double dot" syntax. Or should I refer to ".." as the "string spread operator" to avoid naming conflict with "..." -- the better known "spread operator" (array spread operator)? Rowan/@IMSoP informed me that the current division between the haves and the have-nots appears to be based on the source language from which PHP pulled. Essentially, if from C, the double dot does not represent a range. https://chat.stackoverflow.com/transcript/11?m=54864842#54864842 Character ranges are not yet supported for: - strcspn() - strpbrk() - strspn() Before I fire off an RFC, I would like to know: 1. Are there any reasonable objections to consistently implementing character range expressions for all character masks? 2. Are there any native functions that I did not mention my Stack Overflow answer? 3. Is it true that only single-byte characters can be used in all scenarios? If so, must it remain that way? 4. Is there already an official or widely-used term that I should be using for the two-dot operator? I should also mention that I initially considered requesting that all character mask parameters be named $mask (instead of $separators, $token, or $characters), but I later resigned to the fact that changing to a name that describes the texture of the string would remove the more vital/intuitive purpose of the string. I suppose the best that can be done to inform developers is to explicitly mention in the documentation when character range expressions are implemented and demonstrate their usage in an example (not just as a user comment at the bottom; this isn't In-N-Out Burger -- put your offerings on the frickin' menu!). mickmackusa
