[TYPO3-core] optional array arguments

[Michael Scharkow]

Martin Kutschker wrote:
> Franz Holzinger <franz at fholzinger.com> writes on 
> Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:09:51 +0200 (METDST):
> 
>> However if it is an empty array then $variable = array() should get
>> used here. With this you can avoid an additional if to check if the
>> passed parameter is an array.
> 
> 
> No, because it's only guaranteed that the default is an empty array. We have to check because the calling code might pass anything to the function.
> 
> We'd need PHP 5.1 and it's array type hinting feature to avoid the check.

I don't think this is always necessary because most methods can handle 
empty arguments very well. The most frequent problem with passing arrays 
to functions in PHP is the fact that foreach($foo as $bar) does always 
break when $foo is not an array, instead of simply not looping at all, 
as does every better programming language.

IMO type casting/hinting is the wrong solution to this problem because 
loose typing is actually a good thing if implemented correctly. I've 
seen the foreach issue for ages in the PHP bugtracker and really wonder 
why they can't fix it.

Sorry for slight OT,
Michael