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Refactor Internal Time Retrieval Handling for Improved Consistency and Resolution #19202

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@marc-mabe marc-mabe commented Jul 21, 2025 •
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This pull request refactors how PHP internally handles current time retrieval and time measurement, introducing a more consistent and portable approach. The primary goals are to encapsulate platform-specific differences, improve time resolution, and prepare for long-term compatibility (e.g., Y2038 on WIN64).

Key Changes

  • Introduced zend_time.h
    A new internal header that abstracts system time functions, replacing direct usage of <time.h> and related platform-specific APIs.

  • Added zend_time_real_spec
    A unified wrapper around clock_gettime(), timespec_get(), gettimeofday(), and time() using the real/wall clock.
    Returns a timespec structure with nanosecond precision (when available).

  • Added zend_time_real_get
    A lightweight wrapper around time(NULL) for simple, low-resolution time retrieval.

  • Added zend_time_mono_fallback
    A wrapper for zend_hrtime or falls back to zend_time_real_spec.
    Useful for time measurements (e.g. timeout handling) where monotonic time is preferred, but wall time is an acceptable fallback.

  • Added helper functions
    Added utilities to simplify usage of timeval and timespec structures.

  • Replaced direct system time API usage
    Internal calls to system time functions now use zend_time_*.

  • Standardized time representation
    Transitioned to timespec for current time where appropriate, while retaining timeval for files and stream-related functionality.

Benefits

  • Improved Portability and Readability
    Platform-specific time logic is encapsulated, reducing conditionals and improving clarity.

  • Guaranteed Time API Availability
    The new abstraction ensures time can always be retrieved via a fallback chain:
    clock_gettime() → timespec_get() → gettimeofday() → time()

  • Y2038 Compatibility on WIN64
    Addresses issues caused by long in timeval.tv_sec on 64-bit Windows systems.

    Related issue: #17856 – time() and Y2038 problem on 64-bit Windows

  • Improved Resolution for Time Functions
    microtime() and gettimeofday(true) now offer better time precision without breaking backward compatibility.

  • Removed Redundant Availability Checks
    Previously unverified use of gettimeofday() has been replaced by a robust fallback mechanism.
    Conditional checks for microtime(), gettimeofday(), and uniqid() have been removed.

@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch 14 times, most recently from c81c27f to 8c044c8 Compare July 23, 2025 13:19
@marc-mabe marc-mabe requested a review from derickr as a code owner July 25, 2025 08:12
@marc-mabe marc-mabe mentioned this pull request Jul 25, 2025
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@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch 2 times, most recently from 7e3d98c to fdabd9b Compare July 26, 2025 08:46
TimWolla
TimWolla reviewed Jul 27, 2025
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@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch from 1058493 to 9429859 Compare July 28, 2025 07:02
@marc-mabe marc-mabe requested a review from devnexen as a code owner September 23, 2025 06:12
@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch from 315f346 to 956b7a0 Compare October 4, 2025 19:57
@marc-mabe marc-mabe changed the title Refactor basic time usages Refactor Internal Time Retrieval Handling for Improved Consistency and Resolution Oct 5, 2025
@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch from 956b7a0 to 88ec473 Compare October 5, 2025 05:41
@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch from 88ec473 to abf0e46 Compare October 19, 2025 02:53
@marc-mabe marc-mabe requested a review from TimWolla October 19, 2025 03:14
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marc-mabe commented Oct 19, 2025 •
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@TimWolla I think this is ready to go now. Please could you have another look and/or point me to the right person to ping?

@bukka Please could you help me for how to fix the failing unit test (expecting gettimeofday but now using zend_monotime_fallback)

TimWolla
TimWolla reviewed Oct 19, 2025
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Had a rudimentary first look.

TimWolla
TimWolla reviewed Oct 20, 2025
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Some more bits. I'm approximately halfway through the PR. Feel free to already make the requested changes with regard to the removal of the macros, this probably saves us both a review cycle.

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Some more bits. I'm approximately halfway through the PR. Feel free to already make the requested changes with regard to the removal of the macros, this probably saves us both a review cycle.

I'll be able to continue my work on it from tomorrow evening.

@marc-mabe marc-mabe force-pushed the current_time_wrapper branch from 8949f1a to 5dac1fe Compare October 24, 2025 14:33
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Hi @TimWolla , I have now addressed all your comments.

PS: I decided to not inline zend_time_real_[get|spec] and zend_time_mono_fallback to be able to mock these functions in unit tests.

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