Borrow/Refer to an array shape

[kudashevs]

Hello everyone,

I have a question about using arrays as parameters and reusing their shapes. Is there any way to borrow the shape (to refer to a tag from the different annotation) of an array that is passed as a parameter?

What do I mean by that. Sometimes, I come across the code like this:

    /**
     * @var array{
     *     param: string,
     *     int_param: int,
     *     array_param: array<array-key, string>,
     *     bool_param: bool,
     *     log_activity: bool,
     *     log_level: string,
     *     log_only: array<array-key, string>,
     * } $options
     */
    private array $options = [];

    /**
     * @param array{
     *     param: string,
     *     int_param: int,
     *     array_param?: array<array-key, string>,
     *     bool_param?: bool,
     *     log_activity: bool,
     *     log_level: string,
     *     log_only: array<array-key, string>,
     * } $options
     */
    public function __construct(array $options)
    {
        $this->initOptions($options);
        
        $this->doSomething($this->options);
    }
    
    /**
     * @param array{
     *     param: string,
     *     int_param: int,
     *     array_param?: array<array-key, string>,
     *     bool_param?: bool,
     *     log_activity: bool,
     *     log_level: string,
     *     log_only: array<array-key, string>,
     * } $options
     */
    protected function initOptions(array $options): void
    {
        ...
    }

    /**
     * @param array{
     *     param: string,
     *     int_param: int,
     *     array_param: array<array-key, string>,
     *     bool_param: bool,
     *     log_activity: bool,
     *     log_level: string,
     *     log_only: array<array-key, string>,
     * } $options
     */
    protected function doSomething(array $options): void
    {
        ...
    }

As we can see from this code, the initOptions() method uses the same array shape as the constructor. The doSomething() method uses the same array shape as the options field. And this duplication is quite unwieldy and wordy to me.

Is there any possibility to use some special tags or other techniques that allow us just to refer to a specific shape?

[ondrejmirtes]

You can use type aliases: https://phpstan.org/writing-php-code/phpdoc-types#local-type-aliases

[kudashevs]

Thank you very much. I literally went through the majority of parameters' related questions and didn't see any reference to the aliases.

@ondrejmirtes thanks again!