PHP Type

Nette\Utils\Type is a class for working with PHP data types.

Installation:

composer require nette/utils

All examples assume the following class alias is defined:

use Nette\Utils\Type;

fromReflection ($reflection): ?Type

This static method creates a Type object based on reflection. The parameter can be a ReflectionMethod or ReflectionFunction object (returns the return value type), or a ReflectionParameter or ReflectionProperty object. It resolves self, static, and parent to the actual class name. If the subject has no type, it returns null.

class DemoClass
{
	public self $foo;
}

$prop = new ReflectionProperty(DemoClass::class, 'foo');
echo Type::fromReflection($prop); // 'DemoClass'

fromString (string $type): Type

This static method creates a Type object from its string representation.

$type = Type::fromString('Foo|Bar');
echo $type;      // 'Foo|Bar'

getNames (): (string|array)[]

Returns an array of strings representing the subtypes that make up a compound type. For intersection types, it returns an array of arrays.

$type = Type::fromString('string|null'); // or '?string'
$type->getNames();  // ['string', 'null']

$type = Type::fromString('(Foo&Bar)|string');
$type->getNames();  // [['Foo', 'Bar'], 'string']

getTypes(): Type[]

Returns an array of Type objects representing the subtypes that make up a compound type:

$type = Type::fromString('string|null'); // or '?string'
$type->getTypes();  // [Type::fromString('string'), Type::fromString('null')]

$type = Type::fromString('(Foo&Bar)|string');
$type->getTypes();  // [Type::fromString('Foo&Bar'), Type::fromString('string')]

$type = Type::fromString('Foo&Bar');
$type->getTypes();  // [Type::fromString('Foo'), Type::fromString('Bar')]

getSingleName(): ?string

For simple types (including simple nullable types like ?string), returns the type name. Otherwise, returns null.

$type = Type::fromString('string|null');
echo $type;                       // '?string'
echo $type->getSingleName();      // 'string'

$type = Type::fromString('?Foo');
echo $type;                       // '?Foo'
echo $type->getSingleName();      // 'Foo'

$type = Type::fromString('Foo|Bar');
echo $type;                       // 'Foo|Bar'
echo $type->getSingleName();      // null (it's a union type)

isSimple(): bool

Returns whether it is a simple type. Simple types also include simple nullable types (e.g., ?string, ?Foo):

$type = Type::fromString('string');
$type->isSimple();       // true
$type->isUnion();        // false

$type = Type::fromString('?Foo'); // or 'Foo|null'
$type->isSimple();       // true
$type->isUnion();        // true (because it contains null)

isUnion(): bool

Returns whether it is a union type (contains |).

$type = Type::fromString('Foo&Bar');
$type->isUnion();        // true

isIntersection(): bool

Returns whether it is an intersection type (contains &).

$type = Type::fromString('Foo&Bar');
$type->isIntersection(); // true

isBuiltin(): bool

Returns whether the type is simple and also a PHP built-in type (like string, int, array, callable, etc.).

$type = Type::fromString('string');
$type->isBuiltin(); // true

$type = Type::fromString('string|int');
$type->isBuiltin(); // false

$type = Type::fromString('Foo');
$type->isBuiltin(); // false

isClass(): bool

Returns whether the type is simple and also a class name (not a built-in type like string or int).

$type = Type::fromString('string');
$type->isClass();   // false

$type = Type::fromString('Foo|null');
$type->isClass();   // true

$type = Type::fromString('Foo|Bar');
$type->isClass();   // false

isClassKeyword(): bool

Returns whether the type is one of the internal keywords self, parent, or static.

$type = Type::fromString('self');
$type->isClassKeyword();   // true

$type = Type::fromString('Foo');
$type->isClassKeyword();   // false

allows (string $type): bool

The allows() method checks type compatibility. For example, it can determine if a value of a certain type could be passed as a parameter to a function expecting this type.

$type = Type::fromString('string|null');
$type->allows('string'); // true
$type->allows('null');   // true
$type->allows('Foo');    // false

$type = Type::fromString('mixed');
$type->allows('null');   // true