AOT: Project entry require-as-expression bootstrap (config.php → Router) (#764) #783

Problem

examples/003-MiniWebApp/public/index.php bootstraps the app with require-as-expression and a separate class load before dispatch:

$config = require __DIR__ . '/../config.php';
require __DIR__ . '/../src/Router.php';
$router = new Router($config);
$router->dispatch($method, $route);

#752 ✅ links the project; #764 tracks empty stdout on native execute. VM/phpc serve prints HTML — the gap is specific to AOT runtime through the compiled entry graph.

This path is distinct from #776 (void render* + template include) and #739 (isolated void+include fixture): if the entry TU mishandles require return values or class constructor wiring, dispatch may run with an empty config or never reach template output.

Goal

Native .phpc/bin/app executes the same bootstrap as VM:

• config.php array return populates Router (app_name needle in HTML)
• new Router($config) succeeds under AOT ABI (Language: Typed property array (private array $config) in VM/JIT/AOT #767 typed array property)

Scope

• AOT lowering for require used as expression (return value from included file)
• Multi-TU order: phpc.json includes[] + entry public/index.php (AOT: Honor phpc.json includes array in phpc build --project #452)
• Reproduce with minimal fixture if full MiniWebApp is too heavy (extend test/fixtures/aot/)

Implementation hints

Reproduce (local / Docker)

make docker-build-22
docker run --rm -i -w /compiler php-compiler:22.04-dev bash -lc '
  tar -xf - && composer install -q && ./script/apply-patches.sh
  php bin/phpc.php build --project examples/003-MiniWebApp
  cd examples/003-MiniWebApp
  QUERY_STRING=route=home REQUEST_METHOD=GET ./.phpc/bin/app | wc -c
'

Expect non-zero bytes; currently 0 (batch 52 harness verify).

Acceptance criteria

• Manual probe above emits HTML containing MiniWebApp from config
• Covered by Testing: MiniWebAppAotExecuteTest CLI smoke (#485, #676 step 2) #747 MiniWebAppAotExecuteTest GET home assertion (or dedicated fixture PHPT)
• No regression in PhpcBuildProjectTest::testMiniWebAppBuildLinksNativeBinary

Dependencies

• AOT: MiniWebApp native binary CLI execute emits empty stdout (post-link) #764 — umbrella execute blocker
• Language: Typed property array (private array $config) in VM/JIT/AOT #767 — typed private array $config
• Testing: MiniWebAppAotExecuteTest CLI smoke (#485, #676 step 2) #747 — PHPUnit gate
• AOT: Router render* void methods — template include must emit stdout (#764) #776 — template include tier (may also be required)

Verification

Local/Docker only — ./script/docker-ci-local.sh, make test-docker. Do not require GitHub Actions.

Links

• AOT: MiniWebApp native binary CLI execute emits empty stdout (post-link) #764, AOT: Router render* void methods — template include must emit stdout (#764) #776, AOT: Green method_include_void.phpt and @group aot-link for void+include methods #739, Testing: MiniWebAppAotExecuteTest CLI smoke (#485, #676 step 2) #747
• ROADMAP 🗺️ ROADMAP: Self-host + web-capable PHP subset (living) #78