TIL*¹ you can import just a function in a .php file, like we do with classes. It works from PHP 5.6+, so there’s no weird compatibility issue. And it’s dead simple.

Here’s an example from Safe PHP, specifically let’s say we want to use the safer*² version of json_decode. Pay attention at how this allows us to override PHP’s default json_decode global function:

// First we import it
use function Safe\json_decode;

// And then we just use it
$foobar = json_decode($content);

Yes, it’s not a jode. That’s all. You tell PHP that what you’re importing is a function and the just use the function’s name instead of a class name. After that, you can use said function in you code as if it were a global or local function. How cool is that?!

• *1 Not really today, this post was in draft state since 2017/12/22 o.o
• *2 These are a set of core PHP functions rewritten to throw exceptions instead of returning false when an error is encountered. For more information about this project you can go to their repo https://github.com/thecodingmachine/safe