Explicit Method Visibility

ID

php.explicit_method_visibility

Severity

info

Remediation Complexity

trivial

Remediation Risk

low

Remediation Effort

low

Resource

Code Smell

Language

Php

Tags

code-style, code_smell

Description

Reports class, abstract and interface methods declared without an explicit visibility modifier. A method written as function foo() - or one carrying only static, abstract or final - is implicitly public. The rule flags those declarations so that every method states its intended access level.

Rationale

PHP defaults a method with no visibility keyword to public. Relying on that default makes the public surface of a class implicit: a reader must remember the language rule to know whether a method is part of the API or an internal helper. Spelling out public, private or protected documents intent at the declaration site, and aligns with PSR-12, which since PHP 8.0 also requires visibility on interface methods.

<?php
class Service
{
    function handle() {}          // FLAW - no visibility, implicitly public

    static function build() {}    // FLAW - static but no visibility

    public function run() {}      // OK - explicit public

    private function cache() {}   // OK - explicit private
}

Remediation

Add the intended visibility keyword (public, private or protected) to each method declaration, including methods inside interfaces and abstract classes.

References