ksort(..., SORT_REGULAR) behaves incorrectly on arrays with string and numeric keys since PHP 8.0

[astrophysik]

Description

The behavior of the string and number comparison operators has been changed since php 8, but ksort and krsort functions still use the old rules.
It leads to inconsistent situations, when after ksort the first key is greater than some of the next ones by according to the basic comparison operators.

The following code:

<?php
$array = ["600" => 0, "aaa" => 1];
ksort($array, SORT_REGULAR);
var_dump($array);
var_dump(array_key_first($array) <=> array_key_last($array));

Resulted in this output:

array(2) {
  ["aaa"]=>
  int(1)
  [600]=>
  int(0)
}
int(1)

But I expected this output instead:

array(2) {
  [600]=>
  int(0)
  ["aaa"]=>
  int(1)
}
int(-1)

PHP Version

PHP 8.0

Operating System

No response

[zeriyoshi]

@cmb69
Going to fix this as a bug? This fix would make the behavior more intuitive, but it would break code that depends on the current behavior of ksort. (I have run into that).

Personally, I think this should be fixed in PHP 8.2 or later and marked as BC Break.

[damianwadley]

The fix for this bug is already in commit cd1aed8 and will be present in PHPs 8.0.23, 8.1.10, and 8.2.0.

[zeriyoshi]

Yes, I understand that.

However, I think you should reconsider whether this is appropriate. Fortunately, none of the versions have been released yet.

[damianwadley]

Ah, I thought you were asking about whether it was going to be fixed at all.

Every bug fix breaks compatibility for someone. Personally, I don't think everybody should have to upgrade all the way to 8.2 to get this one just because there might be some people who have discovered and are making deliberate use of what is IMO objectively illogical behavior on PHP's part.

[zeriyoshi]

I agree with your opinion, but I don't think this change should be made in a patch.
Patch versions are primarily for bug fixes for security and crashes, and I don't think changes that affect compatibility are appropriate.
On the other hand, I know that in PHP such changes have been incorporated into patch versions in the past.

This is a decision-making issue. Either way, I would like to get confirmation, so I will send an email to the ML. Thanks.