PHP 7+ Object-oriented API for Scalar, String and Arrays

These documents describes a new API for scalar values in PHP, fully object-oriented, but keeping in mind the interoperability with PHP's historic procedural API. This API must keep using ZVALs as they are used today, but add a new way to manage them, bringing all the advantages OOP can have.

This work takes inspiration from Nikita Popov's scalar objects extension for the method of attaching a class to a special scalar type and from the PECL SPL types extension for the base class structures.

Every functionality maps to a currently existing functionnality in the procedural API and must behave the same way.

The Scalar API

This API comes with all the functionnalities you will need to interact with a scalar, these classes are already availiable in the PECL SPL Types extension.

One difference to add here is the creation of a new class called SplNumber, parent of the classes below :

• SplInt
• SplFloat
• SplBool

This API also comes with a SplEnum special type, built to bring the enum construct.

todo

The String API

Base API

This base API comes with all the base functionnalities you will need to interact with a string, these are methods of an SplString class availiable in the PECL SPL Types extension and ehances it with a fill API, independent from classic string functions.

Decorator API

This API implements fluent string escaping and transformation (HTML, SQL, console, ect...)

todo

Cyphering and hashing API

All the hashing and cyphering API (md5, sha, ect...)

todo

The Array API

This is NOT a reimplementation of ArrayObject, this API would in fact make it useless.

Base API

This base API comes with all the base functionnalities you will need to interact with an array, these are methods of an SplArray class.

Sorting API

Brings sorting functionalities to arrays, from basic numeric or alphanumeric sorting to user-defined sorting.

Intersection API

These classes brings the array intersection routines, from simple keyed-intersection to more complex and user-defined rules.

Comparator API

Ability to compare arrays, by keys, values, both, depending on user-defined comparison functions, ect...

Decorator API

Ability to decorate arrays, changing its visible behavior whithout the need for reimplementing legacy or vendor code