FastForward Defer

A minimal utility that brings defer-style execution (similar to Go) to PHP using object scope and destructors. It allows you to register callbacks that will run automatically at the end of a scope, in LIFO order (Last-In, First-Out).

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Core Concept

A Defer instance represents a scope-bound execution stack.

• Register callbacks using $defer(...) or $defer->defer(...)
• Callbacks execute automatically when the object goes out of scope
• Execution is always LIFO (stack behavior)
• Execution is guaranteed during exception unwinding
• Errors inside callbacks are captured and reported, without interrupting the chain

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Basic Usage

use FastForward\Defer\Defer;

function example(): void
{
    $defer = new Defer();

    $defer(function () {
        echo "First defer\n";
    });

    $defer(function () {
        echo "Second defer\n";
    });

    echo "Inside function\n";
}

example();

Output

Inside function
Second defer
First defer

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Using Arguments

Deferred callbacks receive exactly the arguments you pass.

function example(): void
{
    $defer = new Defer();

    $defer(function ($file) {
        echo "Deleting {$file}\n";
    }, 'temp.txt');

    echo "Working...\n";
}

example();

Output

Working...
Deleting temp.txt

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⚠️ Execution Order Matters

Deferred callbacks execute in reverse order of registration.

$defer(fn() => unlink($file));
$defer(fn() => fclose($handle));

Execution order:

fclose($handle)
unlink($file)

Always register in reverse of the desired execution order.

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Exception Safety

Deferred callbacks always run, even if an exception occurs.

function process(): void
{
    $defer = new Defer();

    $defer(fn() => print "Cleanup\n");

    throw new Exception('Failure');
}

try {
    process();
} catch (Exception) {
    echo "Exception caught\n";
}

Output

Cleanup
Exception caught

---

Nested Scopes

Each Defer instance is isolated.

function outer(): void
{
    $defer = new Defer();

    $defer(fn() => print "Outer cleanup\n");

    inner();
}

function inner(): void
{
    $defer = new Defer();

    $defer(fn() => print "Inner cleanup\n");
}

outer();

Output

Inner cleanup
Outer cleanup

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Helper Functions

defer()

Creates a new Defer instance.

Inside function
Second defer
First defer0

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scope()

Runs a block with an isolated defer scope.

use function FastForward\Defer\scope;

scope(function ($defer) {
    $defer(fn() => print "Cleanup\n");

    echo "Inside\n";
});

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using()

Structured resource management (acquire → use → cleanup).

Inside function
Second defer
First defer2

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Error Handling

Deferred callbacks never break execution flow.

• If a callback throws, execution continues
• Errors are forwarded to an ErrorReporter
• Default behavior uses error_log()

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Custom Error Reporter

Inside function
Second defer
First defer3

---

Composite Reporter

Inside function
Second defer
First defer4

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PSR Integration

PSR-3 Logger

use FastForward\Defer\ErrorReporter\PsrLoggerErrorReporter;

Defer::setErrorReporter(
    new PsrLoggerErrorReporter($logger)
);

---

PSR-14 Event Dispatcher

Inside function
Second defer
First defer6

This allows multiple listeners (logging, metrics, tracing, etc.).

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HTTP Middleware (PSR-15)

You can bind a Defer instance to a request lifecycle.

Inside function
Second defer
First defer7

The middleware:

• creates a Defer per request
• injects it into request attributes
• ensures execution at the end of the request

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Accessing Defer in Handlers

use FastForward\Defer\DeferInterface;

$defer = $request->getAttribute(DeferInterface::class);
$defer(fn() => cleanup());

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Execution Model

Within a single scope

• Last registered → runs first

Across nested scopes

• Inner scope resolves before outer

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Design Principles

• Deterministic cleanup
• Minimal API
• No manual flush
• Failure isolation
• Extensible reporting

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Notes

• Execution is triggered by __destruct()
• Do not share instances across scopes
• Prefer short-lived instances
• Avoid long-lived/global usage

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When to Use

• resource cleanup
• file handling
• locks
• temporary state
• exception-safe teardown

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When NOT to Use

• long-lived lifecycle management
• orchestration logic
• cases requiring explicit execution timing

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Summary

Defer provides a strict and predictable cleanup model:

• automatic execution at scope end
• LIFO ordering
• safe failure handling
• pluggable reporting
• PSR-friendly integrations

It is intentionally small, deterministic, and constrained.