Do You Think That PHP Would Benefit from Static Typing?

[CoderMaya]

Oh why oh why do you not think things over before you say them. "You're still young" haha. Yeah, you know how you just made yourself look, right?

Properly explained:
Just because we want to have a bit more organized way of code-writing in PHP, does not mean we want to use Java and its repulsing compiled website creation.

"Oh yeah!? You want static typing in PHP? Go use Java then, hahaha!"

...

Can you be a bit more serious than that please? There is a valid argument up for discussion here.

[WMX]

The only reason to make PHP statically typed would be if we're going to see a large increase in speed/performance.

Or here's another idea-- allow dynamically typed variables as currently are allowed, but also allow statically typed variables. If you declare

$x = 1; 

then let it be represented as a string internally with the overhead hit of casting it to an int when you use it in a comparison for example, but then if you declare $x like this:

int $x = 1; 

then let it be represented as an int internally which would give it a performance boost, while at the same time not allowing you to change its type. If you later try to assign

$x = 'a'; 

it would have to give you a syntax error. Just an idea, don't know if it would be a good move though.

[BerislavLopac]

It wouldn't.

[WMX]

It wouldn't.

Well that would depend on how the interpreter is implemented, wouldn't it.

[sweatje]

Well that would depend on how the interpreter is implemented, wouldn't it.

No, I agree with BerislavLopac, it wouldn't matter how it was implemented, it would be bad for PHP.

[Czaries]

Well that would depend on how the interpreter is implemented, wouldn't it.

I too think this is something PHP should never do. If PHP did this by default, it would probably be the day I stop using it.

[Jake Arkinstall]

Exactly. We're talking about optional extras here.

For example:

<?php
$x = "hello";
$x = 1;
$x = true;
int $y = 1;
$y++;
$y = 'a'; //ERROR

An option to do it would be a godsend. And yes, it would speed up massive, resource-hungry applications tenfold. Currently, every time you access an integer - it needs to be converted from a string to said integer, the function applied to it and then it is converted back. A simple addition isn't 1 step, it's 3.

[DangerMouse1981]

But does that operation need to be sped up?

By far the biggest bottleneck in a web application is... the Web itself. Saving a few CPU cycles here and there is hardly relevant to this environment.

DM

[WMX]

No, I agree with BerislavLopac, it wouldn't matter how it was implemented, it would be bad for PHP.

I too think this is something PHP should never do. If PHP did this by default, it would probably be the day I stop using it.

I grew up with C so declaring types really wouldn't bother me. At the same time, I don't think it's necessary for PHP. All I was arguing was that the interpreter could be built in such a way as to make typecasted variables quicker to evaluate than non-typecasted vars.

[WMX]

An option to do it would be a godsend. And yes, it would speed up massive, resource-hungry applications tenfold. Currently, every time you access an integer - it needs to be converted from a string to said integer, the function applied to it and then it is converted back. A simple addition isn't 1 step, it's 3.

But in any given application there are probably other bottlenecks that would need to be addressed before this type of minuscule optimization.