Re: [PHP-DEV] [Pre-RFC] Idea: named parameter lists

On Tue, 18 Aug 2026 at 12:35, Henrik Skov <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> On 18/08/2026 12.52, AllenJB wrote:
>
> On 2026-08-18 11:02, Henrik Skov wrote:
>
> Hi again !
> The important part is that any instantiations and function calls are evaluated at call-time and not compile time !
>
> So time() would return the timestamp at time of call and not when compiler first encounters the COOKIE_PARAMS const array. The new params keyword would make this clear to the compiler
>
> /Henrik
>
> On 18/08/2026 11.43, Henrik Skov wrote:
>
>
> Thanks for the feedback.
>
> Problem with your re-written example is that it works with/depends on global variables...
>
> I was the code below actually worked:
>
> <?php
> const COOKIE_PARAMS = [
>     "samesite"                 => "Lax",
>     "expires_or_options"     => time() + 3600,     // Let's say time is 1787047184
>     "path"                     => "/",
>     "domain"                 => "",
>     "secure"                 => false,
>     "httponly"                 => true,
> ];
>
> [...]
>
> >>
> >> sleep(100);
> >>
> >> var_dump(time()); // -> 1787047284
> >>
> >> fakeSetCookie("testName", "testValue", ...COOKIE_PARAMS); so
> >> expires_or_options become 1787050884
>
> Ah, I think I understand now.
>
> What you're proposing is a structure where you can define a value as an expression, and that expression is only evaluated when the structure is used (rather than when it's defined).
>
> So, even in a long-lived application, the expires_or_options value would always be evaluated as `time() + 3600`
>
> If this were to be implemented, I think it would be better to look at values, rather than defining an entire structure. I can see it being used for more than parameters.
>
> Something like an IIFE that's invoked when used rather than when defined.
>
>
> As a side-note, one way to achieve this in current PHP would be to use a callable:
>
> ```php
> $params = function() {
>     return [
>         "samesite" => "Lax",
>         "expires_or_options" => time() + 3600,
>         "path" => "/",
>         "domain" => "",
>         "secure" => false,
>         "httponly" => true,
>     ];
> };
>
> fakeSetCookie("testName", "testValue", ...$params());
> sleep(2);
> fakeSetCookie("testName", "testValue", ...$params());
> ```
>
> (3v4l refused to save this, probably because it takes too long)
>
> This can also be written using arrow functions:
>
> ```php
> $params = fn() => [
>     "samesite" => "Lax",
>     "expires_or_options" => time() + 3600,
>     "path" => "/",
>     "domain" => "",
>     "secure" => false,
>     "httponly" => true,
> ];
> ```
>
> --
>
> Yes, but I think one should consider params COOKIE_PARAMS {...} more of a type !

Then why not create a type for it https://3v4l.org/lNjSX#vgit.master