Returns.md

Returns Attribute

This attribute is the equivalent of the @return annotation. It can be used on class methods or on regular functions.

We could not use Return for the name of this attribute because return is a reserved word in PHP.

Instead of using this attribute, you can also use the Type attribute which provides equivalent functionality.

Arguments

The attribute accepts a string which describes the type of the value returned by the function or method. The attribute itself does not have a knowledge of which types are valid and which are not and this will depend on the implementation for each particular tool.

We expect that the attribute will be able to accept both basic types like string or array and more advanced types like array<string> or Collection<int>. We aim to accept all the types accepted by static analysis tools for the @return annotation.

Example usage

<?php

use PhpStaticAnalysis\Attributes\Returns;

class ReturnsExample
{
    #[Returns('Array<string>')] // this is the return type
    public function getNames(): array
    {
        return ['Fred', 'John'];
    }    
}