A Case for Generics in PHP

Explore the case for implementing generics in PHP in this conference talk from the International PHP Conference. Dive into the evolution of PHP's type system, comparing weak vs strong typing, dynamic vs static typing, and implicit vs explicit typing. Examine PHP examples and type checking, contrasting them with Java's approach. Learn about runtime checks, explicit types, and the advancements in PHP 7.4. Discover how generics could complement PHP's recent type system enhancements, potentially avoiding runtime surprises and reducing code repetition. Gain insights from the speaker's experience with generics in Java and C#, and understand the practical use cases for adopting generics in PHP.

Introduction
Weak vs Strong
Dynamic vs Static
Implicit vs Explicit
PHP Example
Type Check
Java Type Check
Dynamically typed language
Runtime checks
Explicit types
Evolution of types
PHP 74
When could this happen
Sarah Goldman
Midwest PHP
Other Languages
Conclusions
Outro