Stdlib: strnatcmp()/strcoll()/strncmp()/version_compare() — null/bool operands must TypeError (ext/standard/string.c)

[PurHur]

Category

stdlib · php-src-strict

Problem

PHP 8+ string-typed compare builtins must TypeError when operands are null, bool, or other non-string scalars — not silently coerce (e.g. strnatcmp(null,'1') → -1). This compiler returns comparison integers instead of failing.

Related but narrower: #4346 (array/object operands on strcmp family), #8825 (enum case operands).

php-src reference

• php/php-src ext/standard/string.c — PHP_FUNCTION(strnatcmp), strcoll, strncmp, …
• php/php-src ext/standard/versioning.c — PHP_FUNCTION(version_compare)

Repro (failure today)

test/repro/maintainer_gap_string_compare_null_scalar.php:

php test/repro/maintainer_gap_string_compare_null_scalar.php      # all TypeError
php bin/vm.php test/repro/maintainer_gap_string_compare_null_scalar.php  # uncaught / returns int

Call	Zend	VM today
strnatcmp(null,'1')	TypeError	returns -1 ❌
strcoll(null,'a')	TypeError	returns -97 ❌
strncmp(null,'a',1)	TypeError	returns 0 ❌
version_compare(null,'1.0')	TypeError	returns -1 ❌
strcmp(true,'1')	TypeError	returns 0 ❌

Scope (this repo)

Path	Work
ext/standard/ compare builtins	Reuse VmString::coerceStringBuiltinArg / shared string-arg guards
lib/JIT/	Same TypeError shapes when lowered

PHP-in-PHP: guards in PHP builtins; shrink any C-only coercion.

Done when

• Repro prints TypeError for every case on VM
• Valid string operands still compare like Zend
• JIT/AOT agree if these calls are JIT-lowed

[PurHur]

claim: PHP Compiler STD Lib — batch (issues #10910, #10909, #10908, #10907)

[PurHur]

Merged in #10927. VM + JIT + compliance green; AOT compile.php -l on repro passes. All five compare builtins now TypeError on null/bool operands via requireStringBuiltinArg / lowerRequiredString.