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Bug #78372 Calling __set magic method on ReflectionProperty::setValue()
Submitted: 2019-08-05 07:10 UTC Modified: 2019-08-05 09:18 UTC
From: i dot spyric at gmail dot com Assigned:
Status: Duplicate Package: Scripting Engine problem
PHP Version: 7.4.0beta1 OS: Debian
Private report: No CVE-ID: None
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 [2019-08-05 07:10 UTC] i dot spyric at gmail dot com 
Description:
------------
When you use setting value via reflection on uninitialized property __set magic method will be called. 

If you remove type of property or set default value, __set method will not be called.

Is it a bug? Because in RFC I have not seen anything about this behavior

Test script:
---------------
class Example {
    private string $test;

    public function __set($name, $value)
    {
        echo "$name=$value";
    }
}

$t = new Example();

$property = new ReflectionProperty($t, 'test');
$property->setAccessible(true);
$property->setValue($t, 'foo');

Expected result:
----------------
No __set is called

Actual result:
--------------
__set is called

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 [2019-08-05 07:20 UTC] requinix@php.net
-Status: Open +Status: Not a bug
 [2019-08-05 07:20 UTC] requinix@php.net 
The RFC states that __get will be invoked upon reading an uninitialized typed property. Logically, __set should be invoked when writing an uninitialized typed property.

This behavior matches how an unset() untyped property works, even when using reflection. https://3v4l.org/Gs1XL
 [2019-08-05 07:55 UTC] nikic@php.net 
While this is technically "expected", I do think that we may need to do something about this, though I'm not sure what. See also bug #78226.
 [2019-08-05 08:50 UTC] requinix@php.net
-Status: Not a bug +Status: Duplicate
 [2019-08-05 08:50 UTC] requinix@php.net 
Then really this is a duplicate: the typed properties + __set problem, this time using reflection.

The awkwardness is specifically about the property being uninitialized; once set, or when specifically unset(), __get/etc. act as expected. So it's looking like a class cannot effectively use uninitialized typed properties as well as __get/etc, and that the best option will be to always initialize them with something - even if 0 or "" or false. (I myself already do this with untyped properties.)

In fact this feels like it'll be such a surprise that I would say maybe typed properties *must* be initialized, in the declaration itself:
  private string $test = "";
I don't see this option mentioned in the RFC and I don't remember if it came up during the RFC discussion. Rationale is that every property should always end up either with some real value or as null to represent a lack of value; for the former this default won't make much of a difference since it will be overwritten, and for the latter the type should have been ?nullable and so could be implicitly initialized by PHP (to null).
 [2019-08-05 09:18 UTC] cmb@php.net 
See <https://wiki.php.net/rfc/typed_properties_v2#property_initialization>.
 
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