DPC2023: Generics aren’t coming

Php

Discover why PHP won't adopt generics, exploring alternative approaches to type safety and the language's future direction.

Key takeaways

PHP will not implement generics, which are features that allow for the creation of reusable code that can work with different data types.
The speaker describes the concept of generics and how they can provide benefits such as code reuse and reduced errors.
Generics are not being implemented in PHP because of the complexity involved and the resources required to do so.
PHP’s runtime type system is a significant part of its appeal, but it can also make it difficult to implement generics.
The speaker suggests that other approaches, such as static analysis, can be used to achieve some of the benefits of generics.
The PHP community is unlikely to adopt generics, and the speaker expects that PHP will not change its approach.
There are other programming languages, such as TypeScript, that do implement generics and have achieved significant benefits from them.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of using static analysis and other tools to achieve type safety in PHP.
The speaker also highlights the need for more discussion and debate within the PHP community about the future direction of the language.
It is unlikely that PHP will ever implement generics, and the speaker is advocating for alternative approaches to achieve the same benefits.
Generics are not essential for PHP and other programming languages do not implement them.
The speaker’s presentation does not provide much hope for PHP to adopt generics.

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