[PHP-BUG] Req #70582 [NEW]: Referncing NotExistingClass::class should trigger error/warning/notice

From:             andreas dot stangl at stansotec dot de
Operating system: Any
PHP version:      Next Major Version
Package:          PHP Language Specification
Bug Type:         Feature/Change Request
Bug description:Referncing NotExistingClass::class should trigger error/warning/notice

Description:
------------
When referencing the "magic" class constant "::class" the interpreter
does not care if the given class does not exist.

If I have e.g. a class "My\FancyClass" and I access the "class" constant
like

    echo My\FancyClass::class;

I get

    "My\FancyClass"

(which is pretty cool especially for unit tests). But if e.g.
My\FancyClass gets renamed to "My\FoobarClass" the interpreter will not
complain at all.

But referencing any other (not existing) constant of a not existing
class like

    echo My\FoobarClass::blah;

Produces a fatal error. This looks a little inconsistent to me.


Test script:
---------------
<?php
namespace My;

class FancyClass {}

echo FancyClass::class . "\n";        // useful
echo NotExistingClass::class . "\n";  // imho not so useful :-/
echo NotExistingClass::blah;          // fatal error

Expected result:
----------------
My\FancyClass
PHP Fatal error:  Class 'My\NotExistingClass' not found in
testScript.php on line 7

Actual result:
--------------
My\FancyClass
My\NotExistingClass
PHP Fatal error:  Class 'My\NotExistingClass' not found in
testScript.php on line 8

-- 
Edit bug report at https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=70582&edit=1
-- 
Try a snapshot (PHP 5.4):   https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=trysnapshot54
Try a snapshot (PHP 5.5):   https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=trysnapshot55
Try a snapshot (trunk):     https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=trysnapshottrunk
Fixed in SVN:               https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=fixed
Fixed in release:           https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=alreadyfixed
Need backtrace:             https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=needtrace
Need Reproduce Script:      https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=needscript
Try newer version:          https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=oldversion
Not developer issue:        https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=support
Expected behavior:          https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=notwrong
Not enough info:            https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=notenoughinfo
Submitted twice:            https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=submittedtwice
register_globals:           https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=globals
PHP 4 support discontinued: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=php4
Daylight Savings:           https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=dst
IIS Stability:              https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=isapi
Install GNU Sed:            https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=gnused
Floating point limitations: https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=float
No Zend Extensions:         https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=nozend
MySQL Configuration Error:  https://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=70582&r=mysqlcfg