1.2.35. Ambiguous Visibilities

The properties have the same name, but have different visibilities, across different classes.

While it is legit to have a property with the same name in different classes, it may easily lead to confusion. As soon as the context is need to understand if the property is accessible or not, the readability suffers.

It is recommended to handle the same properties in the same way across classes, even when the classes are not related.

<?php

class person {
    public $name;
    private $address;
}

class gangster {
    private $name;
    public $nickname;
    private $address;
}

$someone = Human::load(123);
echo 'Hello, '.$someone->name;

?>

1.2.35.1. Connex PHP features

• class

• visibility

1.2.35.1.1. Suggestions

• Sync visibilities for both properties, in the different classes

• Use different names for properties with different usages

1.2.35.1.2. Specs

Short name	Classes/AmbiguousVisibilities
Rulesets	All, Analyze, Changed Behavior, Semantics
Exakat since	1.3.4
PHP Version	All
Severity	Minor
Time To Fix	Slow (1 hour)
Precision	Very high
Examples	Typo3
Related rule	Missing Visibility
Available in	Entreprise Edition, Exakat Cloud