Iterable objects and array type hinting?

PHP 7.1.0 has introduced the iterable pseudo-type and the is_iterable() function, which is specially designed for such a purpose:

This […] proposes a new iterable pseudo-type. This type is analogous to callable, accepting multiple types instead of one single type.

iterable accepts any array or object implementing Traversable. Both of these types are iterable using foreach and can be used with yield from within a generator.

function foo(iterable $iterable) {
    foreach ($iterable as $value) {
        // ...
    }
}

This […] also adds a function is_iterable() that returns a boolean: true if a value is iterable and will be accepted by the iterable pseudo-type, false for other values.

var_dump(is_iterable([1, 2, 3])); // bool(true)
var_dump(is_iterable(new ArrayIterator([1, 2, 3]))); // bool(true)
var_dump(is_iterable((function () { yield 1; })())); // bool(true)
var_dump(is_iterable(1)); // bool(false)
var_dump(is_iterable(new stdClass())); // bool(false)

I actually had to add a check for stdClass, as instances of stdClass do work in foreach loops, but stdClass does not implement Traversable:

function is_iterable($var) {
    return (is_array($var) || $var instanceof Traversable || $var instanceof stdClass);
}

I use a simple (and maybe a little hackish) way to test for "iterability".

function is_iterable($var) {
    set_error_handler(function ($errno, $errstr, $errfile, $errline, array $errcontext)
    {
        throw new \ErrorException($errstr, null, $errno, $errfile, $errline);
    });

    try {
        foreach ($var as $v) {
            break;
        }
    } catch (\ErrorException $e) {
        restore_error_handler();
        return false;
    }
    restore_error_handler();
    return true;
}

When you try to loop a non iterable variable, PHP throws a warning. By setting a custom error handler prior the attempt to iterate, you can transform an error into an exception thus enabling you to use a try/catch block. Afterwards you restore the previous error handler to not disrupt the program flow.

Here's a small test case (tested in PHP 5.3.15):

class Foo {
    public $a = 'one';
    public $b = 'two';
}

$foo = new Foo();
$bar = array('d','e','f');
$baz = 'string';
$bazinga = 1;
$boo = new StdClass();    

var_dump(is_iterable($foo)); //boolean true
var_dump(is_iterable($bar)); //boolean true
var_dump(is_iterable($baz)); //boolean false
var_dump(is_iterable($bazinga)); //bolean false
var_dump(is_iterable($boo)); //bolean true

Unfortunately you won't be able to use type hints for this and will have to do the is_array($var) or $var instanceof ArrayAccess stuff. This is a known issue but afaik it is still not resolved. At least it doesn't work with PHP 5.3.2 which I just tested.

You CAN use type hinting if you switch to using iterable objects.

protected function doSomethingWithIterableObject(Iterator $iterableObject) {}

or

protected function doSomethingWithIterableObject(Traversable $iterableObject) {}

However, this can not be used to accept iterable objects and arrays at the same time. If you really want to do that could try building a wrapper function something like this:

// generic function (use name of original function) for old code
// (new code may call the appropriate function directly)
public function doSomethingIterable($iterable)
{
    if (is_array($iterable)) {
        return $this->doSomethingIterableWithArray($iterable);
    }
    if ($iterable instanceof Traversable) {
        return $this->doSomethingIterableWithObject($iterable);
    }
    return null;
}
public function doSomethingIterableWithArray(array $iterable)
{
    return $this->myIterableFunction($iterable);
}
public function doSomethingIterableWithObject(Iterator $iterable)
{
    return $this->myIterableFunction($iterable);
}
protected function myIterableFunction($iterable)
{
    // no type checking here
    $result = null;
    foreach ($iterable as $item)
    {
        // do stuff
    }
    return $result;
}