Discovering Method Signature Changes

Several method signature changes have been introduced in PHP 8. Understanding these signature changes is important if our code extends any of the classes or implements any of the methods described in this lesson. As long as we are aware of these changes, our code will function correctly, resulting in fewer bugs.

The signature changes that were introduced in PHP 8 reflect the updated best practices. Accordingly, if we write code that uses the correct method signatures, we are following these best practices. We will begin our discussion by reviewing PHP 8 changes to magic method signatures.

Managing magic method signatures

In PHP 8, the definition and use of magic methods have taken a significant step toward standardization. This was accomplished by introducing precise magic method signatures in the form of strict argument and return data types. As with most of the improvements seen in PHP 8, this update was included to prevent the misuse of magic methods. The overall result is better code with fewer bugs.

The downside of this enhancement is that if we have code that provides an incorrect argument or return value type, an Error is thrown. On the other hand, if our code does provide the correct argument data type and return value type, or if our code does not use argument or return value data types at all, this enhancement will have no adverse effects.

The following code block summarizes the new argument and returns value data types for magic methods in PHP 8 and above: