This extension exposes the abstract syntax tree generated by PHP 7.
Windows: Download a prebuilt Windows DLL and move it into the ext/
directory of your PHP installation. Furthermore add extension=php_ast.dll
to your php.ini
file.
Unix (PECL): Run pecl install ast
and add extension=ast.so
to your php.ini
.
Unix (Compile): Compile and install the extension as follows.
phpize ./configure make sudo make install
Additionally add extension=ast.so
to your php.ini
file.
Defines:
ast\Node
classast\Node\Decl
classast\Metadata
classast\AST_*
kind constantsast\flags\*
flag constantsast\parse_file(string $filename, int $version)
ast\parse_code(string $code, int $version [, string $filename = "string code"])
ast\get_kind_name(int $kind)
ast\kind_uses_flags(int $kind)
ast\get_metadata()
ast\get_supported_versions(bool $exclude_deprecated = false)
Code can be parsed using either ast\parse_code()
, which accepts a code string, or ast\parse_file()
, which accepts a file path. Additionally both functions require a $version
argument to ensure forward-compatibility. The current version is 50.
$ast = ast\parse_code('<?php ...', $version=50); // or $ast = ast\parse_file('file.php', $version=50);
The abstract syntax tree returned by these functions consists of ast\Node
objects. ast\Node
is declared as follows:
namespace ast; class Node { public $kind; public $flags; public $lineno; public $children; }
The kind
property specifies the type of the node. It is an integral value, which corresponds to one of the ast\AST_*
constants, for example ast\AST_STMT_LIST
. See the AST node kinds section for an overview of the available node kinds.
The flags
property contains node specific flags. It is always defined, but for most nodes it is always zero. See the flags section for a list of flags supported by the different node kinds.
The lineno
property specifies the starting line number of the node.
The children
property contains an array of child-nodes. These children can be either other ast\Node
objects or plain values. There are two general categories of nodes: Normal AST nodes, which have a fixed set of named child nodes, as well as list nodes, which have a variable number of children. The AST node kinds section contains a list of the child names for the different node kinds.
Prior to AST version 50, function and class declarations used ast\Node\Decl
objects instead, which specify a number of additional properties:
namespace ast\Node; use ast\Node; class Decl extends Node { public $endLineno; public $name; public $docComment; }
As of AST version 50, ast\Node\Decl
objects are no longer used. Instead the name
and the docComment
are provided as ordinary child nodes. The endLineno
is provided as an (undeclared, dynamic) property on the node.
Simple usage example:
<?php $code = <<<'EOC' <?php $var = 42; EOC; var_dump(ast\parse_code($code, $version=50)); // Output: object(ast\Node)#1 (4) { ["kind"]=> int(133) ["flags"]=> int(0) ["lineno"]=> int(1) ["children"]=> array(1) { [0]=> object(ast\Node)#2 (4) { ["kind"]=> int(517) ["flags"]=> int(0) ["lineno"]=> int(2) ["children"]=> array(2) { ["var"]=> object(ast\Node)#3 (4) { ["kind"]=> int(256) ["flags"]=> int(0) ["lineno"]=> int(2) ["children"]=> array(1) { ["name"]=> string(3) "var" } } ["expr"]=> int(42) } } } }
The util.php
file defines an ast_dump()
function, which can be used to create a more compact and human-readable dump of the AST structure:
<?php require 'path/to/util.php'; $code = <<<'EOC' <?php $var = 42; EOC; echo ast_dump(ast\parse_code($code, $version=50)), "\n"; // Output: AST_STMT_LIST 0: AST_ASSIGN var: AST_VAR name: "var" expr: 42
To additionally show line numbers pass the AST_DUMP_LINENOS
option as the second argument to ast_dump()
.
A more substantial AST dump can be found in the tests.
There are a number of functions which provide meta-information for the AST structure:
ast\get_kind_name()
returns a string name for an integral node kind.
ast\kind_uses_flags()
determines whether the flags
of a node kind may ever be non-zero.
ast\get_metadata()
returns metadata about all AST node kinds. The return value is a map from AST node kinds to ast\Metadata
objects defined as follows.
namespace ast; class Metadata { public $kind; public $name; public $flags; public $flagsCombinable; }
The kind
is the integral node kind, while name
is the same name as returned by the get_kind_name()
function.
flags
is an array of flag constant names, which may be used by the node kind. flagsCombinable
specifies whether the flag should be checked using ===
(not combinable) or using &
(combinable). Together these two values provide programmatic access to the information listed in the flags section.
The AST metadata is intended for use in tooling for working the AST, such as AST dumpers.
This section lists which flags are used by which AST node kinds. The "combinable" flags can be combined using bitwise or and should be checked by using $ast->flags & ast\flags\FOO
. The "exclusive" flags are used standalone and should be checked using $ast->flags === ast\flags\BAR
.
// Used by ast\AST_ARRAY_ELEM and ast\AST_CLOSURE_VAR (exclusive)
1 = by-reference
// Used by ast\AST_NAME (exclusive)
ast\flags\NAME_FQ (= 0) // example: \Foo\Bar
ast\flags\NAME_NOT_FQ // example: Foo\Bar
ast\flags\NAME_RELATIVE // example: namespace\Foo\Bar
// Used by ast\AST_METHOD, ast\AST_PROP_DECL, ast\AST_CLASS_CONST_DECL
// and ast\AST_TRAIT_ALIAS (combinable)
ast\flags\MODIFIER_PUBLIC
ast\flags\MODIFIER_PROTECTED
ast\flags\MODIFIER_PRIVATE
ast\flags\MODIFIER_STATIC
ast\flags\MODIFIER_ABSTRACT
ast\flags\MODIFIER_FINAL
// Used by ast\AST_CLOSURE (combinable)
ast\flags\MODIFIER_STATIC
// Used by ast\AST_FUNC_DECL, ast\AST_METHOD, ast\AST_CLOSURE (combinable)
ast\flags\FUNC_RETURNS_REF // legacy alias: ast\flags\RETURNS_REF
ast\flags\FUNC_GENERATOR // used only in PHP >= 7.1
// Used by ast\AST_CLOSURE_VAR
ast\flags\CLOSURE_USE_REF
// Used by ast\AST_CLASS (exclusive)
ast\flags\CLASS_ABSTRACT
ast\flags\CLASS_FINAL
ast\flags\CLASS_TRAIT
ast\flags\CLASS_INTERFACE
ast\flags\CLASS_ANONYMOUS
// Used by ast\AST_PARAM (cominable)
ast\flags\PARAM_REF
ast\flags\PARAM_VARIADIC
// Used by ast\AST_TYPE (exclusive)
ast\flags\TYPE_ARRAY
ast\flags\TYPE_CALLABLE
ast\flags\TYPE_VOID // since version 40
ast\flags\TYPE_BOOL // since version 40
ast\flags\TYPE_LONG // since version 40
ast\flags\TYPE_DOUBLE // since version 40
ast\flags\TYPE_STRING // since version 40
ast\flags\TYPE_ITERABLE // since version 40
ast\flags\TYPE_OBJECT // since version 45
// Used by ast\AST_CAST (exclusive)
ast\flags\TYPE_NULL
ast\flags\TYPE_BOOL
ast\flags\TYPE_LONG
ast\flags\TYPE_DOUBLE
ast\flags\TYPE_STRING
ast\flags\TYPE_ARRAY
ast\flags\TYPE_OBJECT
// Used by ast\AST_UNARY_OP (exclusive)
ast\flags\UNARY_BOOL_NOT
ast\flags\UNARY_BITWISE_NOT
ast\flags\UNARY_MINUS // since version 20
ast\flags\UNARY_PLUS // since version 20
ast\flags\UNARY_SILENCE // since version 20
// Used by ast\AST_BINARY_OP and ast\AST_ASSIGN_OP in version >= 20 (exclusive)
ast\flags\BINARY_BITWISE_OR
ast\flags\BINARY_BITWISE_AND
ast\flags\BINARY_BITWISE_XOR
ast\flags\BINARY_CONCAT
ast\flags\BINARY_ADD
ast\flags\BINARY_SUB
ast\flags\BINARY_MUL
ast\flags\BINARY_DIV
ast\flags\BINARY_MOD
ast\flags\BINARY_POW
ast\flags\BINARY_SHIFT_LEFT
ast\flags\BINARY_SHIFT_RIGHT
// Used by ast\AST_BINARY_OP (exclusive)
ast\flags\BINARY_BOOL_AND // since version 20
ast\flags\BINARY_BOOL_OR // since version 20
ast\flags\BINARY_BOOL_XOR
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_IDENTICAL
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_NOT_IDENTICAL
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_EQUAL
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_NOT_EQUAL
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_SMALLER
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_SMALLER_OR_EQUAL
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_GREATER // since version 20
ast\flags\BINARY_IS_GREATER_OR_EQUAL // since version 20
ast\flags\BINARY_SPACESHIP
ast\flags\BINARY_COALESCE // since version 40
// Used by ast\AST_ASSIGN_OP in versions before 20 (exclusive)
ast\flags\ASSIGN_BITWISE_OR
ast\flags\ASSIGN_BITWISE_AND
ast\flags\ASSIGN_BITWISE_XOR
ast\flags\ASSIGN_CONCAT
ast\flags\ASSIGN_ADD
ast\flags\ASSIGN_SUB
ast\flags\ASSIGN_MUL
ast\flags\ASSIGN_DIV
ast\flags\ASSIGN_MOD
ast\flags\ASSIGN_POW
ast\flags\ASSIGN_SHIFT_LEFT
ast\flags\ASSIGN_SHIFT_RIGHT
// Used by ast\AST_MAGIC_CONST (exclusive)
ast\flags\MAGIC_LINE
ast\flags\MAGIC_FILE
ast\flags\MAGIC_DIR
ast\flags\MAGIC_NAMESPACE
ast\flags\MAGIC_FUNCTION
ast\flags\MAGIC_METHOD
ast\flags\MAGIC_CLASS
ast\flags\MAGIC_TRAIT
// Used by ast\AST_USE, ast\AST_GROUP_USE and ast\AST_USE_ELEM (exclusive)
ast\flags\USE_NORMAL
ast\flags\USE_FUNCTION
ast\flags\USE_CONST
// Used by ast\AST_INCLUDE_OR_EVAL (exclusive)
ast\flags\EXEC_EVAL
ast\flags\EXEC_INCLUDE
ast\flags\EXEC_INCLUDE_ONCE
ast\flags\EXEC_REQUIRE
ast\flags\EXEC_REQUIRE_ONCE
// Used by ast\AST_ARRAY (exclusive), since PHP 7.1
ast\flags\ARRAY_SYNTAX_SHORT
ast\flags\ARRAY_SYNTAX_LONG
ast\flags\ARRAY_SYNTAX_LIST
// Used by ast\AST_ARRAY_ELEM (exclusive)
ast\flags\ARRAY_ELEM_REF
This section lists the AST node kinds that are supported and the names of their child nodes.
AST_AND: left, right // prior to version 20
AST_ARRAY_ELEM: value, key
AST_ASSIGN: var, expr
AST_ASSIGN_OP: var, expr
AST_ASSIGN_REF: var, expr
AST_BINARY_OP: left, right
AST_BREAK: depth
AST_CALL: expr, args
AST_CAST: expr
AST_CATCH: class, var, stmts
AST_CLASS: extends, implements, stmts
name, docComment // since version 50
AST_CLASS_CONST: class, const
AST_CLONE: expr
AST_CLOSURE: params, uses, stmts, returnType
name, docComment // since version 50
AST_CLOSURE_VAR: name
AST_COALESCE: left, right // prior to version 40
AST_CONDITIONAL: cond, true, false
AST_CONST: name
AST_CONST_ELEM: name, value
docComment // since version 50
AST_CONTINUE: depth
AST_DECLARE: declares, stmts
AST_DIM: expr, dim
AST_DO_WHILE: stmts, cond
AST_ECHO: expr
AST_EMPTY: expr
AST_EXIT: expr
AST_FOR: init, cond, loop, stmts
AST_FOREACH: expr, value, key, stmts
AST_FUNC_DECL: params, stmts, returnType
uses // prior to version 60
name, docComment // since version 50
AST_GLOBAL: var
AST_GOTO: label
AST_GREATER: left, right // prior to version 20
AST_GREATER_EQUAL: left, right // prior to version 20
AST_GROUP_USE: prefix, uses
AST_HALT_COMPILER: offset
AST_IF_ELEM: cond, stmts
AST_INCLUDE_OR_EVAL: expr
AST_INSTANCEOF: expr, class
AST_ISSET: var
AST_LABEL: name
AST_MAGIC_CONST:
AST_METHOD: params, stmts, returnType
uses // prior to version 60
name, docComment // since version 50
AST_METHOD_CALL: expr, method, args
AST_METHOD_REFERENCE: class, method
AST_NAME: name
AST_NAMESPACE: name, stmts
AST_NEW: class, args
AST_NULLABLE_TYPE: type // Used only in PHP 7.1
AST_OR: left, right // Prior to version 20
AST_PARAM: type, name, default
AST_POST_DEC: var
AST_POST_INC: var
AST_PRE_DEC: var
AST_PRE_INC: var
AST_PRINT: expr
AST_PROP: expr, prop
AST_PROP_ELEM: name, default
docComment // since version 50
AST_REF: var // only used in foreach ($a as &$v)
AST_RETURN: expr
AST_SHELL_EXEC: expr
AST_SILENCE: expr // prior to version 20
AST_STATIC: var, default
AST_STATIC_CALL: class, method, args
AST_STATIC_PROP: class, prop
AST_SWITCH: cond, stmts
AST_SWITCH_CASE: cond, stmts
AST_THROW: expr
AST_TRAIT_ALIAS: method, alias
AST_TRAIT_PRECEDENCE: method, insteadof
AST_TRY: try, catches, finally
AST_TYPE:
AST_UNARY_MINUS: expr // prior to version 20
AST_UNARY_OP: expr
AST_UNARY_PLUS: expr // prior to version 20
AST_UNPACK: expr
AST_UNSET: var
AST_USE_ELEM: name, alias
AST_USE_TRAIT: traits, adaptations
AST_VAR: name
AST_WHILE: cond, stmts
AST_YIELD: value, key
AST_YIELD_FROM: expr
// List nodes (numerically indexed children):
ZEND_AST_ARG_LIST
ZEND_AST_ARRAY
ZEND_AST_CATCH_LIST
ZEND_AST_CLASS_CONST_DECL
ZEND_AST_CLOSURE_USES
ZEND_AST_CONST_DECL
ZEND_AST_ENCAPS_LIST // interpolated string: "foo$bar"
ZEND_AST_EXPR_LIST
ZEND_AST_IF
ZEND_AST_LIST
ZEND_AST_NAME_LIST
ZEND_AST_PARAM_LIST
ZEND_AST_PROP_DECL
ZEND_AST_STMT_LIST
ZEND_AST_SWITCH_LIST
ZEND_AST_TRAIT_ADAPTATIONS
ZEND_AST_USE
The ast\parse_code()
and ast\parse_file()
functions each accept a required AST $version
argument. The idea behind the AST version is that we may need to change the format of the AST to account for new features in newer PHP versions, or to improve it in other ways. Such changes will always be made under a new AST version, while previous formats continue to be supported for some time.
Old AST versions may be deprecated and subsequently removed. However, AST versions will only be removed in conjunction with a version increase of the AST extension from 0.x to 0.(x+1).
A list of currently supported versions is available through ast\get_supported_versions()
. The function accepts a boolean argument that determines whether deprecated versions should be excluded.
In the following the changes in the respective AST versions, as well as their current support state, are listed.
Supported since 0.1.7 (2018-10-06).
AST_FUNC_DECL
and AST_METHOD
no longer generate a uses
child. Previously this child was always null
.AST_FUNC_CONST_ELEM
now always has a docComment
child. Previously it was absent on PHP 7.0. On PHP 7.0 the value is always null
.Supported since 0.1.5 (2017-07-19).
ast\Node\Decl
nodes are no longer generated. AST kinds AST_FUNC_DECL
, AST_METHOD
, AST_CLOSURE
and AST_CLASS
now also use the normal ast\Node
class. The name
and docComment
properties are now represented as children. The endLineno
is still represented as an (undeclared) property.AST_PROP_ELEM
and AST_CONST_ELEM
now store the docComment
as a child, rather than a property.__declId
has been added to declaration nodes of kind AST_FUNCTION
, AST_METHOD
, AST_CLOSURE
and AST_CLASS
. The __declId
uniquely identifies a declaration within the parsed code and will remain the same if the code is parsed again. This is useful to distinguish closures declared on the same line, or multiple conditional declarations using the same name. The ID is not unique across different codes/files.\ast\parse_file
will now consistently return an empty statement list (similar to \ast\parse_code
) if it is was passed a zero-byte file. Previously, it would return null
.Supported since 0.1.5 (2017-07-19). Deprecated since 0.1.7 (2018-10-06).
This version normalizes the AST to PHP 7.2 format.
object
type annotation now returns an AST_TYPE
with TYPE_OBJECT
flag, rather than treating object
as a class name.Supported since 0.1.4 (2017-01-25). Deprecated since 0.1.7 (2018-10-06).
AST_COALESCE
is now represented as an AST_BINARY_OP
with flag BINARY_COALESCE
.AST_NAME
nodes with NAME_FQ
the leading backslash is now dropped if syntax like ('\bar')()
is used. Previously this would return the name as '\bar'
, while a normal \bar()
call would return it as 'bar'
. Now always the latter form is used.null
elements are now stripped from AST_STMT_LIST
. Previously these could be caused by nop statements (;
).int
, float
, string
, bool
, void
and iterable
will now be represented as AST_TYPE
nodes with a respective flag.stmts
children could previously hold one of null
, a single node or an AST_STMT_LIST
. These will now be normalized to always use an AST_STMT_LIST
. A null
is only allowed if it is semantically meaningful, e.g. in the case of declare(ticks=1);
vs declare(ticks=1) {}
.Supported since 0.1.2 (2016-08-04). Deprecated since 0.1.5 (2017-07-19).
This version normalizes the AST to PHP 7.1 format.
class
node of AST_CATCH
is now always represented as an AST_NAME_LIST
. In lower versions: On PHP 7.0 it will always be an AST_NAME
. In PHP 7.1 it will be an AST_NAME
if there is only a single class and AST_NAME_LIST
otherwise.list()
destructuring is now always represented as an AST_ARRAY
with ARRAY_SYNTAX_LIST
flag. In lower versions: On PHP 7.0 it will always be an AST_LIST
. In PHP 7.1 it will be an AST_ARRAY
if list()
is used with keys. In PHP 7.1 destructuring using []
will always be represented using AST_ARRAY
, independently of the version.Supported since 0.1.2 (2016-08-04). Deprecated since 0.1.5 (2017-07-19).
Supported since 0.1.0 (2015-12-04). Deprecated since 0.1.2 (2016-08-04). Removed since 0.1.4 (2017-01-25).
AST_GREATER
, AST_GREATER_EQUAL
, AST_OR
, AST_AND
nodes are now represented using AST_BINARY_OP
with flags BINARY_IS_GREATER
, BINARY_IS_GREATER_OR_EQUAL
, BINARY_BOOL_OR
and BINARY_BOOL_AND
.AST_SILENCE
, AST_UNARY_MINUS
and AST_UNARY_PLUS
nodes are now represented using AST_UNARY_OP
with flags UNARY_SILENCE
, UNARY_MINUS
and UNARY_PLUS
AST_ASSIGN_OP
now uses BINARY_*
flags instead of separate ASSIGN_*
flags.AST_STATIC
and AST_CATCH
now use an AST_VAR
node for the static/catch variable. Previously it was a simple string containing the name.AST_STMT_LIST
s are now flattened out.Supported since 0.1.0 (2015-12-04). Deprecated since 0.1.2 (2016-08-04). Removed since 0.1.3 (2017-01-18).
docComment
property on AST_PROP_DECL
has been moved to AST_PROP_ELEM
. This means that each property in one property declaration can have its own doc comment.Initial. Deprecated since 0.1.2 (2016-08-04). Removed since 0.1.3 (2017-01-18).
Differences to PHP-ParserNext to php-ast I also maintain the PHP-Parser library, which has some overlap with this extension. This section summarizes the main differences between php-ast and PHP-Parser so you may decide which is preferable for your use-case.
The primary difference is that php-ast is a PHP extension (written in C) which exports the AST internally used by PHP 7. PHP-Parser on the other hand is library written in PHP. This has a number of consequences:
There are a number of differences in the AST representation and available support code:
ast_dump
function is provided in the util.php
file.The php-parser-to-php-ast project can convert the AST produced by PHP-Parser into the format used by the php-ast extension. This can be used as a slow fallback in case the php-ast extension is not available. It may also be used to produce a partial php-ast output for code with syntax errors.
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