====== PHP RFC: Bare Name Array Dereference ======
  * Version: 1.0
  * Date: 2014-06-01
  * Author: Andrea Faulds <ajf@ajf.me>
  * Status: Declined
  * First Published at: http://wiki.php.net/rfc/bare_name_array_dereference

===== Introduction =====

The current array dereferencing syntax for string keys is somewhat cumbersome:

<code php>
$myArray['foobar']['andSoOn']['moreKeys']
</code>

To dereference an array with a string key requires four characters. By contrast, dereferencing objects is much shorter, as the key name does not need to be quoted most of the time:

<code php>
$myObject->foobar->andSoOn->moreKeys
</code>

That requires just two characters. So, this RFC proposes a similar syntax for dereferencing string keys fitting the IS_STRING profile:

<code php>
$myArray:>foobar:>andSoOn:>moreKeys
</code>

The :> syntax is just my initial proposal. If there is a better (less ugly?) alternative token, please suggest it.

This complements the [[rfc:bare_name_array_literal|Bare Name Array Literal]] RFC, as both this proposal and that one deal with using bare T_STRING names for array keys.

===== Proposal =====

Along with the existing syntax for dereferencing a key in an array, the following new syntax is added:

    array :> T_STRING

This functions the same as dereferencing a quoted key in square brackets.

===== Backward Incompatible Changes =====

None. This has no effect on existing code.

===== Proposed PHP Version(s) =====

Proposed for the next PHP 5.x, which at the time of writing, is PHP 5.7.

===== RFC Impact =====

SAPIs, extensions, opcache, constants and php.ini are unaffected. No new opcodes are added, this is purely a parsing change.

===== Open Issues =====

The :> syntax might not be ideal, and I'm willing to take suggestions for better syntax.

===== Unaffected PHP Functionality =====

$arr:>foobar are the same $arr['foobar'], so it is completely optional and shouldn't break anything.

===== Future Scope =====

None I can see.

===== Vote =====

A 2/3 majority as it is a language change. Voting began on 2014-06-21 (after a hiccup it was restarted) and ended 2014-06-28.
<doodle title="Merge array dereference into master/PHP 5.7?" auth="user" voteType="single" closed="true">
   * Yes
   * No
</doodle>

===== Patches and Tests =====

There is a working and tested patch implementing this here: https://github.com/TazeTSchnitzel/php-src/compare/bareNameArrayDereference

The branch on my GitHub account is here: https://github.com/TazeTSchnitzel/php-src/tree/bareNameArrayDereference

===== Implementation =====

If/when the RFC is implemented, this section should contain 
  - the version(s) it was merged to
  - a link to the git commit(s)
  - a link to the PHP manual entry for the feature

===== References =====

  * http://phpsadness.com/sad/45 - one of my inspirations for this
  * The [[rfc:bare_name_array_literal|Bare Name Array Literal]] RFC goes hand-in-hand with this one
  * http://marc.info/?t=140164578600002&r=1&w=2 - mailing list discussion on this RFC (it was originally a single RFC containing both this and the literals proposal, but was split into two)

===== Rejected Features =====

None as yet.