rcalicdan/defer

Framework agnostic Deferred Execution Library for PHP

1.2.0 2026-05-04 09:21 UTC

Requires

• php: ^8.2

Requires (Dev)

• laravel/pint: ^1.0
• pestphp/pest: ^4.0
• phpstan/phpstan: ^2.0
• phpstan/phpstan-strict-rules: ^2.0

MIT

• Reymart Calicdan

• php
• defer
• cleanup
• lifecycle
• resource-management

README

A framework-agnostic PHP library that provides Go-style defer functionality for resource management and cleanup operations. Execute callbacks at different scopes: function-level, global (shutdown), or after HTTP response termination.

Installation

composer require rcalicdan/defer

Requirements: PHP 8.2+

Quick Start

use Rcalicdan\Defer\Defer;

function processFile($filename) {
    $file = fopen($filename, 'r');
    
    // Defer cleanup - executes when function ends
    $defer = Defer::scope();
    $defer->task(fn() => fclose($file));
    
    // Your file processing logic here
    $data = fread($file, 1024);
    
    // File automatically closed when function returns
    return $data;
}

Core Concepts

The library provides three execution scopes:

1. Function Scope - Executes when the defer instance goes out of scope (LIFO order)
2. Global Scope - Executes during script shutdown (LIFO order)
3. Terminate Scope - Executes after HTTP response is sent (FIFO order)

Function-Scoped Defers

Function-scoped defers execute when the DeferInstance object is destroyed (typically when leaving the function scope). They execute in LIFO (Last In, First Out) order.

Basic Usage

use Rcalicdan\Defer\Defer;

function databaseTransaction() {
    $pdo = new PDO($dsn, $user, $pass);
    $pdo->beginTransaction();
    
    $defer = Defer::scope();
    $defer->task(fn() => $pdo->rollback()); // Safety rollback
    
    // Perform operations
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("INSERT INTO users (name) VALUES (?)");
    $stmt->execute(['John']);
    
    $pdo->commit();
    // Defer cleanup executes here (though rollback is harmless after commit)
}

Method Chaining

$defer = Defer::scope()
    ->task(fn() => fclose($file))
    ->task(fn() => unlink($tempFile))
    ->task(fn() => echo "Cleanup completed\n");

// Execution order: echo message, unlink file, close file (LIFO)

Multiple Resources

function processMultipleFiles(array $filenames) {
    $defer = Defer::scope();
    $handles = [];
    
    foreach ($filenames as $filename) {
        $handle = fopen($filename, 'r');
        $handles[] = $handle;
        
        // Each file gets its own cleanup defer
        $defer->task(fn() => fclose($handle));
    }
    
    // Process all files
    foreach ($handles as $handle) {
        // ... process file
    }
    
    // All files automatically closed when function ends (LIFO order)
}

Global Defers

Global defers execute during normal script shutdown in LIFO (Last In, First Out) order. They are guaranteed to run when the script exits naturally or encounters a fatal error.

use Rcalicdan\Defer\Defer;

Defer::global(function() {
    echo "First registered\n";
});

Defer::global(function() {
    echo "Second registered\n";  
});

Defer::global(function() {
    echo "Third registered\n";
});

// Output on shutdown (LIFO order):
// Third registered
// Second registered  
// First registered

Practical Example

Defer::global(fn() => echo "1. Final cleanup completed\n");
Defer::global(fn() => close_database_connections());
Defer::global(fn() => cleanup_temp_files());
Defer::global(fn() => echo "4. Starting cleanup sequence...\n");

$app = new Application();

Defer::global(fn() => $app->saveState());

Signal Handling (Opt-In)

By default, global defers only run on normal script shutdown. If you need defers to also run when the process is interrupted (e.g. Ctrl+C, SIGTERM, SIGHUP), you must explicitly opt in by calling Defer::enableSignals() early in your script.

This is intentionally disabled by default — registering signal handlers can have unexpected side effects in web contexts, test runners, and scripts that manage their own signals.

// Opt in once, early in your entry point
Defer::enableSignals();

Defer::global(function() {
    file_put_contents('/tmp/shutdown.log', 'Clean shutdown: ' . date('Y-m-d H:i:s'));
});

// Your long-running process
while (true) {
    // ... do work
    sleep(1);
}

// Without enableSignals(): cleanup runs on normal exit only
// With enableSignals(): cleanup also runs on Ctrl+C, SIGTERM, SIGHUP, etc.

Signal support by platform (when opted in):

• Windows — sapi_windows_set_ctrl_handler() (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Break, window close)
• Unix/Linux with pcntl — SIGTERM, SIGINT, SIGHUP
• Unix/Linux without pcntl — process monitoring, STDIN monitoring, error handler fallbacks
• All platforms — register_shutdown_function() as the guaranteed baseline

Note: Signal handling is only meaningful in CLI. Calling Defer::enableSignals() in a web context is a safe no-op.

Terminate Defers

Terminate defers execute after the HTTP response is sent to the client in FIFO (First In, First Out) order, allowing for background processing without impacting response time.

Note: Terminate defers work best in FastCGI environments (PHP-FPM, FastCGI) where fastcgi_finish_request() is available. Other environments use fallback methods but may not guarantee true post-response execution.

Basic Usage

use Rcalicdan\Defer\Defer;

function handleRequest($request) {
    $response = processRequest($request);
    
    // Background tasks execute in FIFO order after response is sent
    Defer::terminate(function() use ($request) {
        logAnalytics($request->getUri(), $request->getUserAgent());
    });
    
    Defer::terminate(function() use ($request) {
        sendWelcomeEmail($request->get('email'));
    });
    
    return $response;
}

Error Handling

By default, terminate defers skip execution on 4xx/5xx HTTP status codes. Use the $always parameter to force execution:

// Only runs on successful responses (2xx, 3xx)
Defer::terminate(fn() => incrementSuccessCounter());

// Always runs, regardless of status code
Defer::terminate(function() {
    logRequestCompletion();
}, always: true);

Environment Support

• FastCGI/FPM ✅ — Uses fastcgi_finish_request() for true post-response execution
• CLI — Executes after main script completion
• Development Server — Flushes output buffers before execution
• Other SAPIs — Fallback with output buffer handling

Advanced Usage

Manual Execution (Testing)

// Function-scoped - manual execution in LIFO order
$defer = Defer::scope();
$defer->task(fn() => echo "Second\n");
$defer->task(fn() => echo "First\n");
$defer->executeAll();

// Global - manual execution in LIFO order
Defer::global(fn() => echo "Global cleanup\n");
Defer::getHandler()->executeAll();

// Terminate - manual execution in FIFO order
Defer::terminate(fn() => echo "First task\n");
Defer::terminate(fn() => echo "Second task\n");
Defer::getHandler()->executeTerminate();

Monitoring and Debugging

// Check pending defer count
$defer = Defer::scope();
$defer->task(fn() => cleanup1());
$defer->task(fn() => cleanup2());
echo $defer->count(); // 2

// Check whether signal handling is active
var_dump(Defer::signalsEnabled()); // bool(false) by default

// Inspect signal handling capabilities
$info = Defer::getHandler()->getSignalHandlingInfo();
print_r($info);

// Run the built-in capability test (outputs platform/method details)
Defer::getHandler()->testSignalHandling();

Checking FastCGI Availability

$info = Defer::getHandler()->getHandler()->getEnvironmentInfo();

if ($info['fastcgi'] && $info['fastcgi_finish_request']) {
    echo "✅ Optimal terminate defer support available\n";
} else {
    echo "⚠️ Using fallback terminate handling\n";
}

Error Handling

All defer types include robust error handling. Exceptions in callbacks are logged but do not prevent remaining callbacks from executing:

$defer = Defer::scope()
    ->task(function() {
        throw new Exception("This won't stop other defers");
    })
    ->task(function() {
        echo "This will still execute\n";
    });

// Exception is logged via error_log(), execution continues in LIFO order

Performance Considerations

• Function Scope: Limited to 50 defers per instance (oldest dropped when exceeded)
• Global Scope: Limited to 100 defers total (oldest dropped when exceeded)
• Terminate Scope: Limited to 50 defers (oldest dropped when exceeded)
• Function and Global defers execute in LIFO order
• Terminate defers execute in FIFO order
• Minimal overhead for registration and cleanup

Real-World Examples

Database Transaction with Cleanup

function transferFunds($fromAccount, $toAccount, $amount) {
    $pdo = new PDO($dsn, $user, $pass);
    $pdo->beginTransaction();
    
    $defer = Defer::scope()
        ->task(fn() => auditLog("Transaction attempt completed")) // Runs first (LIFO)
        ->task(fn() => $pdo->rollback());                        // Runs second - safety net
    
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance - ? WHERE id = ?");
    $stmt->execute([$amount, $fromAccount]);
    
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare("UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance + ? WHERE id = ?");
    $stmt->execute([$amount, $toAccount]);
    
    $pdo->commit();
    // LIFO: audit log, then rollback (harmless after commit)
}

File Processing with Temporary Cleanup

function processUploadedImage($uploadedFile) {
    $tempPath = '/tmp/' . uniqid() . '.tmp';
    move_uploaded_file($uploadedFile['tmp_name'], $tempPath);
    
    $defer = Defer::scope()
        ->task(fn() => echo "Processing completed\n") // Runs first (LIFO)
        ->task(fn() => unlink($tempPath));             // Runs second - cleanup
    
    $image = imagecreatefromjpeg($tempPath);
    $resized = imagescale($image, 800, 600);
    
    $finalPath = '/uploads/' . $uploadedFile['name'];
    imagejpeg($resized, $finalPath);
    
    imagedestroy($image);
    imagedestroy($resized);
    
    return $finalPath;
}

Background Processing with Terminate

function processOrder($orderData) {
    $order = createOrder($orderData);
    
    // Background tasks execute in FIFO order after response is sent
    Defer::terminate(function() use ($order) {
        updateInventory($order);        // Runs first
    });
    
    Defer::terminate(function() use ($order) {
        sendConfirmationEmail($order);  // Runs second
    });
    
    Defer::terminate(function() use ($order) {
        logOrderCompletion($order);     // Runs third
    });
    
    return ['success' => true, 'order_id' => $order->id];
}

Long-Running CLI Process with Graceful Shutdown

// Opt in to signal handling for graceful interruption
Defer::enableSignals();

// Register cleanup in LIFO order
Defer::global(fn() => echo "Shutdown complete\n");
Defer::global(function() {
    file_put_contents('/var/log/worker.log', "Worker stopped: " . date('c') . "\n", FILE_APPEND);
});
Defer::global(fn() => echo "Starting shutdown sequence...\n");

while (true) {
    $job = getNextJob();
    if (!$job) {
        sleep(1);
        continue;
    }
    
    processJob($job);
}

// LIFO cleanup runs on normal exit AND on Ctrl+C / SIGTERM (because enableSignals() was called)

Execution Order Summary

Scope	Order	Triggered by
Function	LIFO	Instance going out of scope
Global	LIFO	Script shutdown (+ signals if opted in)
Terminate	FIFO	After HTTP response is sent

Limitations

1. Signal handling is opt-in via Defer::enableSignals() — global defers only cover normal shutdown by default
2. Terminate defers work optimally in FastCGI environments; other environments use fallback methods
3. Exceptions in defer callbacks are logged but do not propagate
4. Defer stacks have size limits to prevent memory leaks (see Performance Considerations)
5. Execution order differs by scope — plan your cleanup registration accordingly

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.