Weak Types

The Weak Types component provides a set of classes for working with weak references in PHP. It allows you to store objects without preventing them from being garbage collected, and react to their destruction.

This component already included in the boson-php/runtime, so no separate installation is required when using the runtime.

#Installation

Via Composer:

composer require boson-php/weak-types

Requirements:

• PHP ^8.4

#ObservableWeakSet

ObservableWeakSet allows you to store a set of objects and track their destruction. It's useful when you need to maintain a collection of objects and react when they are garbage collected.

use Boson\Component\WeakType\ObservableWeakSet;

// Create a new observable weak set
$set = new ObservableWeakSet();

// Watch an object
$set->watch($object, function (object $ref): void {
    echo "Object has been destroyed, cleaning up resources...\n";
});

// Iterate over all entries
foreach ($set as $object) {
    // Process each object
}

// Get the number of entries
$count = count($set);

#ObservableWeakMap

ObservableWeakMap allows you to store a set of objects with referenced values and track their destruction. It's useful when you need to maintain a mapping between objects and react when they are garbage collected.

use Boson\Component\WeakType\ObservableWeakMap;

// Create a new observable weak map
$map = new ObservableWeakMap();

// Watch an object and its associated value
$map->watch($keyObject, $refObject, function (object $ref): void {
    echo "Object has been destroyed, cleaning up resources...\n";
});

// Find a value by key
$value = $map->find($keyObject);

// Iterate over all entries
foreach ($map as $keyObject => $refObject) {
    // Process each entry
}

// Get the number of entries
$count = count($map);