One of the first things most contributors start with is proposing changes to callmaps.
Callmap is a data file (formatted as a PHP file returning an array) that tells Psalm what arguments function/method takes and what it returns.
There are two full callmaps (CallMap.php
and CallMap_historical.php
) in
dictionaries
folder, and a number of delta files that provide information on
how signatures changed in various PHP versions. CallMap_historical
has
signatures as they were in PHP 7.0, CallMap.php
contains current signatures
(for PHP 8.1 at the time of writing).
Full callmaps (CallMap.php
and CallMap_historical.php
) have function/method
names as keys and an array representing the corresponding signature as a value.
First element of that value is a return type (it also doesn't have a key), and
subsequent elements represent function/method parameters. Parameter name for an
optional parameter is postfixed with =
.
Delta files (named CallMap_<PHP major version><PHP minor version>_delta.php
)
list changes that happened in the corresponding PHP version. There are
three section with self-explanatory names: added
(for functions/methods that
were added in that PHP version), removed
(for those that were removed) and
changed
.
Entry format for removed
and added
section matches that of a full callmap,
while changed
entries list old
and new
signatures.
When the current PHP version is set to something other than the latest PHP version supported by Psalm, it needs to process delta files to arrive at a version of callmap matching the one that is used during analysis. Psalm uses the following process to do that:
- Read
CallMap.php
(Note: it's the one having the latest signatures). - If it matches configured PHP version, use it.
- If the callmap delta for previous PHP version exists, read that.
- Take previous callmap delta and apply it in reverse order. That is, entries
in
removed
section are added, those inadded
section are removed andchanged.new
signatures in the current callamp are replaced withchanged.old
. - Goto 2
To make sure there are no mismatches in deltas and the callmap, CI validates
that all function/method entries have consistent histories. E.g. that the
signature in changed.new
matches the one in CallMap.php
, the removed
entries are actually absent from CallMap.php
and so on.
To put that into practical perspective, let's see how a couple of typical callmap changes may look like.
Say, there's a function added in PHP 8.1, e.g. array_is_list()
. Add it to the
CallMap_81_delta.php
(as it was introduced in PHP 8.1), and CallMap.php
(as
it exists in the latest PHP version). Here's the PR that does it.
Assume you found an incorrect signature, the one that was always different to what
we currently have in Psalm. This will need a change to CallMap_historical.php
(as the signature was always that way) and CallMap.php
(as the signature is
still valid). Here's the PR that does it.
If function signature is correct for an older version but has changed since you
will need to edit the delta for PHP version where signature changed and
CallMap.php
(as this new signature is still valid). Here's
the PR that does it (makes timestamp
nullable).