This format matches against null bytes, and prevents the test
expectation from being interpreted as binary data.
bless_tests.php will automatically replace \0 with %0 as well.
This deprecates passing null to non-nullable scale arguments of
internal functions, with the eventual goal of making the behavior
consistent with userland functions, where null is never accepted
for non-nullable arguments.
This change is expected to cause quite a lot of fallout. In most
cases, calling code should be adjusted to avoid passing null. In
some cases, PHP should be adjusted to make some function arguments
nullable. I have already fixed a number of functions before landing
this, but feel free to file a bug if you encounter a function that
doesn't accept null, but probably should. (The rule of thumb for
this to be applicable is that the function must have special behavior
for 0 or "", which is distinct from the natural behavior of the
parameter.)
RFC: https://wiki.php.net/rfc/deprecate_null_to_scalar_internal_arg
Closes GH-6475.
Nikita Popov