Request for Comments: Named Parameters

• Version: 0.1
• Date: 2012-04-13
• Author:
• Status: Draft
• First Published at: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/namedparameters

This document is a placeholder for a future RFC on implementing Named Parameters. This project needs an owner.

Named Parameters is a topic that has been raised many times over the years. The pros and cons are captured in a variety of emails. Now PHP has an RFC process the discussion should be recorded in an RFC (this is yet to be done).

As a start, a summary is contained in the Paris meeting minutes from 2005:

The functionality of named parameters was suggested. Named parameters allow you to “skip” certain parameters to functions. If it would be implemented, then it might look like:

<?php
function foo ($a = 42, $b = 43, $c = 44, $d = 45)
{
      // echos 42, 53, 54, 45
      echo "$a $b $c $d\n";
}

foo(c => 54, b => 53);
?>

We don't see the real need for named parameters, as they seem to violate PHP's KISS principle. It also makes for messier code.

We do not want to add it.