Question 1

How to migrate my existing PHP code to use Safe functions?

Accepted Answer

Use the provided Rector configuration: run 'vendor/bin/rector process src/ --config vendor/thecodingmachine/safe/rector-migrate.php' after installing Rector. Note that it only replaces function names and doesn't adapt existing error handling, so manual checks are needed for conditional logic.

Question 2

Safe PHP vs traditional error handling: which is better?

Accepted Answer

Safe PHP enforces exception handling, making errors explicit and harder to ignore, while traditional handling relies on checking false returns that can be missed. However, Safe adds performance overhead and requires refactoring, so it's best for reliability-focused projects over performance-critical ones.

Question 3

What's the performance impact of using Safe PHP?

Accepted Answer

Safe PHP adds approximately 700 microseconds per request due to loading over 1000 functions from 85 files, as detailed in the performance section. This is minimal for most applications but could matter in high-throughput scenarios.

Question 4

How do I set up PHPStan with Safe PHP to catch unsafe usage?

Accepted Answer

Install the PHPStan Safe rule via Composer with 'composer require --dev thecodingmachine/phpstan-safe-rule', then add the included configuration to your phpstan.neon file. This will trigger warnings for unsafe core function usage and suggest Safe replacements.

Question 5

Can I use Safe PHP with Laravel or Symfony?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Safe PHP is framework-agnostic and can be integrated with Laravel or Symfony. However, you'll need to handle exceptions within the framework's error handling system and ensure imports are correct, which may require adjustments to existing middleware or event listeners.

Question 6

What functions does Safe PHP actually cover?

Accepted Answer

It covers all PHP core functions that can return false on error, such as file_get_contents, json_decode, and mkdir, plus safe versions of DateTime and DateTimeImmutable. The README states it includes 'all PHP core functions' in this category for comprehensive error handling.

Question 7

How to catch exceptions from Safe functions in my code?

Accepted Answer

Wrap Safe function calls in standard PHP try-catch blocks. For example, use 'try { Safe\file_get_contents(...); } catch (\Safe\FilesystemException $e) { ... }' to handle errors, similar to other exception-based libraries in PHP.

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