PHP 8.3: deprecate dba_fetch()

Related to #1589

Analysis

Recap of existing PHP 8.2 behavior based on the RFC:

// Signature 1: called with 2 or 3 arguments.
function dba_fetch(string|array $key, resource $dba, int $skip = 0): string|false {}

// Signature 2: called with exactly 3 arguments, and $dba trades places with $skip
function dba_fetch(string|array $key, int $skip, resource $dba): string|false {}

Updated behavior for each version:

// Signature 1: unchanged
function dba_fetch(string|array $key, resource $dba, int $skip = 0): string|false {}

// Signature 2: deprecated in PHP 8.3
function dba_fetch(string|array $key, int $skip, resource $dba): string|false {}

Detection in PHP 8.2

• dba_fetch(...) with 3rd argument of type int, see "Syntax Variations" below.

Detection in PHP 8.3

• dba_fetch(...) with 2nd argument of type int, see "Syntax Variations" below.

Top 2000 Packages

Found 2 usages of dba_fetch in the top 2000 packages. Neither uses the deprecated signature.

Examples in james-heinrich/getid3:

dba_fetch(getID3::VERSION, $this->dba) != getID3::VERSION

$result = dba_fetch($key, $this->dba);

Syntax Variations

• dba_fetch(..., 1, ...) ✅ Can be handled by PHPCompatibility.
• dba_fetch(..., $skip, ...) ❌ Unreliable, as $skip could be defined anywhere.

3v4l.org

dba_fetch() is not available on 3v4l.org

References

• RFC: Deprecate functions with overloaded signatures
• PR: Implement "Deprecate functions with overloaded signatures" RFC for PHP 8.3
  • Commit: Deprecate calling dba_fetch() with $dba at the 3rd parameter
• PHP Manual:
  • Migrating from PHP 8.2.x to PHP 8.3.x - Deprecated Features
  • dba_fetch