<?php
/**
* Class for efficiently looking up and mapping string keys to string values, with limits.
*
* @package WordPress
* @since 6.6.0
*/
/**
* WP_Token_Map class.
*
* Use this class in specific circumstances with a static set of lookup keys which map to
* a static set of transformed values. For example, this class is used to map HTML named
* character references to their equivalent UTF-8 values.
*
* This class works differently than code calling `in_array()` and other methods. It
* internalizes lookup logic and provides helper interfaces to optimize lookup and
* transformation. It provides a method for precomputing the lookup tables and storing
* them as PHP source code.
*
* All tokens and substitutions must be shorter than 256 bytes.
*
* Example:
*
* $smilies = WP_Token_Map::from_array( array(
* '8O' => '😯',
* ':(' => '🙁',
* ':)' => '🙂',
* ':?' => '😕',
* ) );
*
* true === $smilies->contains( ':)' );
* false === $smilies->contains( 'simile' );
*
* '😕' === $smilies->read_token( 'Not sure :?.', 9, $length_of_smily_syntax );
* 2 === $length_of_smily_syntax;
*
* ## Precomputing the Token Map.
*
* Creating the class involves some work sorting and organizing the tokens and their
* replacement values. In order to skip this, it's possible for the class to export
* its state and be used as actual PHP source code.
*
* Example:
*
* // Export with four spaces as the indent, only for the sake of this docblock.
* // The default indent is a tab character.
* $indent = ' ';
* echo $smilies->precomputed_php_source_table( $indent );
*
* // Output, to be pasted into a PHP source file:
* WP_Token_Map::from_precomputed_table(
* array(
* "storage_version" => "6.6.0",
* "key_length" => 2,
* "groups" => "",
* "long_words" => array(),
* "small_words" => "8O\x00:)\x00:(\x00:?\x00",
* "small_mappings" => array( "😯", "🙂", "🙁", "😕" )
* )
* );
*
* ## Large vs. small words.
*
* This class uses a short prefix called the "key" to optimize lookup of its tokens.
* This means that some tokens may be shorter than or equal in length to that key.
* Those words that are longer than the key are called "large" while those shorter
* than or equal to the key length are called "small."
*
* This separation of large and small words is incidental to the way this class
* optimizes lookup, and should be considered an internal implementation detail
* of the class. It may still be important to be aware of it, however.
*
* ## Determining Key Length.
*
* The choice of the size of the key length should be based on the data being stored in
* the token map. It should divide the data as evenly as possible, but should not create
* so many groups that a large fraction of the groups only contain a single token.
*
* For the HTML5 named character references, a key length of 2 was found to provide a
* sufficient spread and should be a good default for relatively large sets of tokens.
*
* However, for some data sets this might be too long. For example, a list of smilies
* may be too small for a key length of 2. Perhaps 1 would be more appropriate. It's
* best to experiment and determine empirically which values are appropriate.
*
* ## Generate Pre-Computed Source Code.
*
* Since the `WP_Token_Map` is designed for relatively static lookups, it can be
* advantageous to precompute the values and instantiate a table that has already
* sorted and grouped the tokens and built the lookup strings.
*
* This can be done with `WP_Token_Map::precomputed_php_source_table()`.
*
* Note that if there is a leading character that all tokens need, such as `&` for
* HTML named character references, it can be beneficial to exclude this from the
* token map. Instead, find occurrences of the leading character and then use the
* token map to see if the following characters complete the token.
*
* Example:
*
* $map = WP_Token_Map::from_array( array( 'simple_smile:' => '🙂', 'sob:' => '😭', 'soba:' => '🍜' ) );
* echo $map->precomputed_php_source_table();
* // Output
* WP_Token_Map::from_precomputed_table(
* array(
* "storage_version" => "6.6.0",
* "key_length" => 2,
* "groups" => "si\x00so\x00",
* "long_words" => array(
* // simple_smile:[🙂].
* "\x0bmple_smile:\x04🙂",
* // soba:[🍜] sob:[😭].
* "\x03ba:\x04🍜\x02b:\x04😭",
* ),
* "short_words" => "",
* "short_mappings" => array()
* }
* );
*
* This precomputed value can be stored directly in source code and will skip the
* startup cost of generating the lookup strings. See `$html5_named_character_entities`.
*
* Note that any updates to the precomputed format should update the storage version
* constant. It would also be best to provide an update function to take older known
* versions and upgrade them in place when loading into `from_precomputed_table()`.
*
* ## Future Direction.
*
* It may be viable to dynamically increase the length limits such that there's no need to impose them.
* The limit appears because of the packing structure, which indicates how many bytes each segment of
* text in the lookup tables spans. If, however, care were taken to track the longest word length, then
* the packing structure could change its representation to allow for that. Each additional byte storing
* length, however, increases the memory overhead and lookup runtime.
*
* An alternative approach could be to borrow the UTF-8 variable-length encoding and store lengths of less
* than 127 as a single byte with the high bit unset, storing longer lengths as the combination of
* continuation bytes.
*
* Since it has not been shown during the development of this class that longer strings are required, this
* update is deferred until such a need is clear.
*
* @since 6.6.0
*/
class WP_Token_Map {
/**
* Denotes the version of the code which produces pre-computed source tables.
*
* This version will be used not only to verify pre-computed data, but also
* to upgrade pre-computed data from older versions. Choosing a name that
* corresponds to the WordPress release will help people identify where an
* old copy of data came from.
*/
const STORAGE_VERSION = '6.6.0-trunk';
/**
* Maximum length for each key and each transformed value in the table (in bytes).
*
* @since 6.6.0
*/
const MAX_LENGTH = 256;
/**
* How many bytes of each key are used to form a group key for lookup.
* This also determines whether a word is considered short or long.
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @var int
*/
private $key_length = 2;
/**
* Stores an optimized form of the word set, where words are grouped
* by a prefix of the `$key_length` and then collapsed into a string.
*
* In each group, the keys and lookups form a packed data structure.
* The keys in the string are stripped of their "group key," which is
* the prefix of length `$this->key_length` shared by all of the items
* in the group. Each word in the string is prefixed by a single byte
* whose raw unsigned integer value represents how many bytes follow.
*
* ┌────────────────┬───────────────┬─────────────────┬────────┐
* │ Length of rest │ Rest of key │ Length of value │ Value │
* │ of key (bytes) │ │ (bytes) │ │
* ├────────────────┼───────────────┼─────────────────┼────────┤
* │ 0x08 │ nterDot; │ 0x02 │ · │
* └────────────────┴───────────────┴─────────────────┴────────┘
*
* In this example, the key `CenterDot;` has a group key `Ce`, leaving
* eight bytes for the rest of the key, `nterDot;`, and two bytes for
* the transformed value `·` (or U+B7 or "\xC2\xB7").
*
* Example:
*
* // Stores array( 'CenterDot;' => '·', 'Cedilla;' => '¸' ).
* $groups = "Ce\x00";
* $large_words = array( "\x08nterDot;\x02·\x06dilla;\x02¸" )
*
* The prefixes appear in the `$groups` string, each followed by a null
* byte. This makes for quick lookup of where in the group string the key
* is found, and then a simple division converts that offset into the index
* in the `$large_words` array where the group string is to be found.
*
* This lookup data structure is designed to optimize cache locality and
* minimize indirect memory reads when matching strings in the set.
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @var array
*/
private $large_words = array();
/**
* Stores the group keys for sequential string lookup.
*
* The offset into this string where the group key appears corresponds with the index
* into the group array where the rest of the group string appears. This is an optimization
* to improve cache locality while searching and minimize indirect memory accesses.
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @var string
*/
private $groups = '';
/**
* Stores an optimized row of small words, where every entry is
* `$this->key_size + 1` bytes long and zero-extended.
*
* This packing allows for direct lookup of a short word followed
* by the null byte, if extended to `$this->key_size + 1`.
*
* Example:
*
* // Stores array( 'GT', 'LT', 'gt', 'lt' ).
* "GT\x00LT\x00gt\x00lt\x00"
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @var string
*/
private $small_words = '';
/**
* Replacements for the small words, in the same order they appear.
*
* With the position of a small word it's possible to index the translation
* directly, as its position in the `$small_words` string corresponds to
* the index of the replacement in the `$small_mapping` array.
*
* Example:
*
* array( '>', '<', '>', '<' )
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @var string[]
*/
private $small_mappings = array();
/**
* Create a token map using an associative array of key/value pairs as the input.
*
* Example:
*
* $smilies = WP_Token_Map::from_array( array(
* '8O' => '😯',
* ':(' => '🙁',
* ':)' => '🙂',
* ':?' => '😕',
* ) );
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param array $mappings The keys transform into the values, both are strings.
* @param int $key_length Determines the group key length. Leave at the default value
* of 2 unless there's an empirical reason to change it.
*
* @return WP_Token_Map|null Token map, unless unable to create it.
*/
public static function from_array( array $mappings, int $key_length = 2 ): ?WP_Token_Map {
$map = new WP_Token_Map();
$map->key_length = $key_length;
// Start by grouping words.
$groups = array();
$shorts = array();
foreach ( $mappings as $word => $mapping ) {
if (
self::MAX_LENGTH <= strlen( $word ) ||
self::MAX_LENGTH <= strlen( $mapping )
) {
_doing_it_wrong(
__METHOD__,
sprintf(
/* translators: 1: maximum byte length (a count) */
__( 'Token Map tokens and substitutions must all be shorter than %1$d bytes.' ),
self::MAX_LENGTH
),
'6.6.0'
);
return null;
}
$length = strlen( $word );
if ( $key_length >= $length ) {
$shorts[] = $word;
} else {
$group = substr( $word, 0, $key_length );
if ( ! isset( $groups[ $group ] ) ) {
$groups[ $group ] = array();
}
$groups[ $group ][] = array( substr( $word, $key_length ), $mapping );
}
}
/*
* Sort the words to ensure that no smaller substring of a match masks the full match.
* For example, `Cap` should not match before `CapitalDifferentialD`.
*/
usort( $shorts, 'WP_Token_Map::longest_first_then_alphabetical' );
foreach ( $groups as $group_key => $group ) {
usort(
$groups[ $group_key ],
static function ( array $a, array $b ): int {
return self::longest_first_then_alphabetical( $a[0], $b[0] );
}
);
}
// Finally construct the optimized lookups.
foreach ( $shorts as $word ) {
$map->small_words .= str_pad( $word, $key_length + 1, "\x00", STR_PAD_RIGHT );
$map->small_mappings[] = $mappings[ $word ];
}
$group_keys = array_keys( $groups );
sort( $group_keys );
foreach ( $group_keys as $group ) {
$map->groups .= "{$group}\x00";
$group_string = '';
foreach ( $groups[ $group ] as $group_word ) {
list( $word, $mapping ) = $group_word;
$word_length = pack( 'C', strlen( $word ) );
$mapping_length = pack( 'C', strlen( $mapping ) );
$group_string .= "{$word_length}{$word}{$mapping_length}{$mapping}";
}
$map->large_words[] = $group_string;
}
return $map;
}
/**
* Creates a token map from a pre-computed table.
* This skips the initialization cost of generating the table.
*
* This function should only be used to load data created with
* WP_Token_Map::precomputed_php_source_tag().
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param array $state {
* Stores pre-computed state for directly loading into a Token Map.
*
* @type string $storage_version Which version of the code produced this state.
* @type int $key_length Group key length.
* @type string $groups Group lookup index.
* @type array $large_words Large word groups and packed strings.
* @type string $small_words Small words packed string.
* @type array $small_mappings Small word mappings.
* }
*
* @return WP_Token_Map Map with precomputed data loaded.
*/
public static function from_precomputed_table( $state ): ?WP_Token_Map {
$has_necessary_state = isset(
$state['storage_version'],
$state['key_length'],
$state['groups'],
$state['large_words'],
$state['small_words'],
$state['small_mappings']
);
if ( ! $has_necessary_state ) {
_doing_it_wrong(
__METHOD__,
__( 'Missing required inputs to pre-computed WP_Token_Map.' ),
'6.6.0'
);
return null;
}
if ( self::STORAGE_VERSION !== $state['storage_version'] ) {
_doing_it_wrong(
__METHOD__,
/* translators: 1: version string, 2: version string. */
sprintf( __( 'Loaded version \'%1$s\' incompatible with expected version \'%2$s\'.' ), $state['storage_version'], self::STORAGE_VERSION ),
'6.6.0'
);
return null;
}
$map = new WP_Token_Map();
$map->key_length = $state['key_length'];
$map->groups = $state['groups'];
$map->large_words = $state['large_words'];
$map->small_words = $state['small_words'];
$map->small_mappings = $state['small_mappings'];
return $map;
}
/**
* Indicates if a given word is a lookup key in the map.
*
* Example:
*
* true === $smilies->contains( ':)' );
* false === $smilies->contains( 'simile' );
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param string $word Determine if this word is a lookup key in the map.
* @param string $case_sensitivity Optional. Pass 'ascii-case-insensitive' to ignore ASCII case when matching. Default 'case-sensitive'.
* @return bool Whether there's an entry for the given word in the map.
*/
public function contains( string $word, string $case_sensitivity = 'case-sensitive' ): bool {
$ignore_case = 'ascii-case-insensitive' === $case_sensitivity;
if ( $this->key_length >= strlen( $word ) ) {
if ( 0 === strlen( $this->small_words ) ) {
return false;
}
$term = str_pad( $word, $this->key_length + 1, "\x00", STR_PAD_RIGHT );
$word_at = $ignore_case ? stripos( $this->small_words, $term ) : strpos( $this->small_words, $term );
if ( false === $word_at ) {
return false;
}
return true;
}
$group_key = substr( $word, 0, $this->key_length );
$group_at = $ignore_case ? stripos( $this->groups, $group_key ) : strpos( $this->groups, $group_key );
if ( false === $group_at ) {
return false;
}
$group = $this->large_words[ $group_at / ( $this->key_length + 1 ) ];
$group_length = strlen( $group );
$slug = substr( $word, $this->key_length );
$length = strlen( $slug );
$at = 0;
while ( $at < $group_length ) {
$token_length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$token_at = $at;
$at += $token_length;
$mapping_length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$mapping_at = $at;
if ( $token_length === $length && 0 === substr_compare( $group, $slug, $token_at, $token_length, $ignore_case ) ) {
return true;
}
$at = $mapping_at + $mapping_length;
}
return false;
}
/**
* If the text starting at a given offset is a lookup key in the map,
* return the corresponding transformation from the map, else `false`.
*
* This function returns the translated string, but accepts an optional
* parameter `$matched_token_byte_length`, which communicates how many
* bytes long the lookup key was, if it found one. This can be used to
* advance a cursor in calling code if a lookup key was found.
*
* Example:
*
* false === $smilies->read_token( 'Not sure :?.', 0, $token_byte_length );
* '😕' === $smilies->read_token( 'Not sure :?.', 9, $token_byte_length );
* 2 === $token_byte_length;
*
* Example:
*
* while ( $at < strlen( $input ) ) {
* $next_at = strpos( $input, ':', $at );
* if ( false === $next_at ) {
* break;
* }
*
* $smily = $smilies->read_token( $input, $next_at, $token_byte_length );
* if ( false === $next_at ) {
* ++$at;
* continue;
* }
*
* $prefix = substr( $input, $at, $next_at - $at );
* $at += $token_byte_length;
* $output .= "{$prefix}{$smily}";
* }
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param string $text String in which to search for a lookup key.
* @param int $offset Optional. How many bytes into the string where the lookup key ought to start. Default 0.
* @param int|null &$matched_token_byte_length Optional. Holds byte-length of found token matched, otherwise not set. Default null.
* @param string $case_sensitivity Optional. Pass 'ascii-case-insensitive' to ignore ASCII case when matching. Default 'case-sensitive'.
*
* @return string|null Mapped value of lookup key if found, otherwise `null`.
*/
public function read_token( string $text, int $offset = 0, &$matched_token_byte_length = null, $case_sensitivity = 'case-sensitive' ): ?string {
$ignore_case = 'ascii-case-insensitive' === $case_sensitivity;
$text_length = strlen( $text );
// Search for a long word first, if the text is long enough, and if that fails, a short one.
if ( $text_length > $this->key_length ) {
$group_key = substr( $text, $offset, $this->key_length );
$group_at = $ignore_case ? stripos( $this->groups, $group_key ) : strpos( $this->groups, $group_key );
if ( false === $group_at ) {
// Perhaps a short word then.
return strlen( $this->small_words ) > 0
? $this->read_small_token( $text, $offset, $matched_token_byte_length, $case_sensitivity )
: null;
}
$group = $this->large_words[ $group_at / ( $this->key_length + 1 ) ];
$group_length = strlen( $group );
$at = 0;
while ( $at < $group_length ) {
$token_length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$token = substr( $group, $at, $token_length );
$at += $token_length;
$mapping_length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$mapping_at = $at;
if ( 0 === substr_compare( $text, $token, $offset + $this->key_length, $token_length, $ignore_case ) ) {
$matched_token_byte_length = $this->key_length + $token_length;
return substr( $group, $mapping_at, $mapping_length );
}
$at = $mapping_at + $mapping_length;
}
}
// Perhaps a short word then.
return strlen( $this->small_words ) > 0
? $this->read_small_token( $text, $offset, $matched_token_byte_length, $case_sensitivity )
: null;
}
/**
* Finds a match for a short word at the index.
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param string $text String in which to search for a lookup key.
* @param int $offset Optional. How many bytes into the string where the lookup key ought to start. Default 0.
* @param int|null &$matched_token_byte_length Optional. Holds byte-length of found lookup key if matched, otherwise not set. Default null.
* @param string $case_sensitivity Optional. Pass 'ascii-case-insensitive' to ignore ASCII case when matching. Default 'case-sensitive'.
*
* @return string|null Mapped value of lookup key if found, otherwise `null`.
*/
private function read_small_token( string $text, int $offset = 0, &$matched_token_byte_length = null, $case_sensitivity = 'case-sensitive' ): ?string {
$ignore_case = 'ascii-case-insensitive' === $case_sensitivity;
$small_length = strlen( $this->small_words );
$search_text = substr( $text, $offset, $this->key_length );
if ( $ignore_case ) {
$search_text = strtoupper( $search_text );
}
$starting_char = $search_text[0];
$at = 0;
while ( $at < $small_length ) {
if (
$starting_char !== $this->small_words[ $at ] &&
( ! $ignore_case || strtoupper( $this->small_words[ $at ] ) !== $starting_char )
) {
$at += $this->key_length + 1;
continue;
}
for ( $adjust = 1; $adjust < $this->key_length; $adjust++ ) {
if ( "\x00" === $this->small_words[ $at + $adjust ] ) {
$matched_token_byte_length = $adjust;
return $this->small_mappings[ $at / ( $this->key_length + 1 ) ];
}
if (
$search_text[ $adjust ] !== $this->small_words[ $at + $adjust ] &&
( ! $ignore_case || strtoupper( $this->small_words[ $at + $adjust ] !== $search_text[ $adjust ] ) )
) {
$at += $this->key_length + 1;
continue 2;
}
}
$matched_token_byte_length = $adjust;
return $this->small_mappings[ $at / ( $this->key_length + 1 ) ];
}
return null;
}
/**
* Exports the token map into an associate array of key/value pairs.
*
* Example:
*
* $smilies->to_array() === array(
* '8O' => '😯',
* ':(' => '🙁',
* ':)' => '🙂',
* ':?' => '😕',
* );
*
* @return array The lookup key/substitution values as an associate array.
*/
public function to_array(): array {
$tokens = array();
$at = 0;
$small_mapping = 0;
$small_length = strlen( $this->small_words );
while ( $at < $small_length ) {
$key = rtrim( substr( $this->small_words, $at, $this->key_length + 1 ), "\x00" );
$value = $this->small_mappings[ $small_mapping++ ];
$tokens[ $key ] = $value;
$at += $this->key_length + 1;
}
foreach ( $this->large_words as $index => $group ) {
$prefix = substr( $this->groups, $index * ( $this->key_length + 1 ), 2 );
$group_length = strlen( $group );
$at = 0;
while ( $at < $group_length ) {
$length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$key = $prefix . substr( $group, $at, $length );
$at += $length;
$length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$value = substr( $group, $at, $length );
$tokens[ $key ] = $value;
$at += $length;
}
}
return $tokens;
}
/**
* Export the token map for quick loading in PHP source code.
*
* This function has a specific purpose, to make loading of static token maps fast.
* It's used to ensure that the HTML character reference lookups add a minimal cost
* to initializing the PHP process.
*
* Example:
*
* echo $smilies->precomputed_php_source_table();
*
* // Output.
* WP_Token_Map::from_precomputed_table(
* array(
* "storage_version" => "6.6.0",
* "key_length" => 2,
* "groups" => "",
* "long_words" => array(),
* "small_words" => "8O\x00:)\x00:(\x00:?\x00",
* "small_mappings" => array( "😯", "🙂", "🙁", "😕" )
* )
* );
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param string $indent Optional. Use this string for indentation, or rely on the default horizontal tab character. Default "\t".
* @return string Value which can be pasted into a PHP source file for quick loading of table.
*/
public function precomputed_php_source_table( string $indent = "\t" ): string {
$i1 = $indent;
$i2 = $i1 . $indent;
$i3 = $i2 . $indent;
$class_version = self::STORAGE_VERSION;
$output = self::class . "::from_precomputed_table(\n";
$output .= "{$i1}array(\n";
$output .= "{$i2}\"storage_version\" => \"{$class_version}\",\n";
$output .= "{$i2}\"key_length\" => {$this->key_length},\n";
$group_line = str_replace( "\x00", "\\x00", $this->groups );
$output .= "{$i2}\"groups\" => \"{$group_line}\",\n";
$output .= "{$i2}\"large_words\" => array(\n";
$prefixes = explode( "\x00", $this->groups );
foreach ( $prefixes as $index => $prefix ) {
if ( '' === $prefix ) {
break;
}
$group = $this->large_words[ $index ];
$group_length = strlen( $group );
$comment_line = "{$i3}//";
$data_line = "{$i3}\"";
$at = 0;
while ( $at < $group_length ) {
$token_length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$token = substr( $group, $at, $token_length );
$at += $token_length;
$mapping_length = unpack( 'C', $group[ $at++ ] )[1];
$mapping = substr( $group, $at, $mapping_length );
$at += $mapping_length;
$token_digits = str_pad( dechex( $token_length ), 2, '0', STR_PAD_LEFT );
$mapping_digits = str_pad( dechex( $mapping_length ), 2, '0', STR_PAD_LEFT );
$mapping = preg_replace_callback(
"~[\\x00-\\x1f\\x22\\x5c]~",
static function ( $match_result ) {
switch ( $match_result[0] ) {
case '"':
return '\\"';
case '\\':
return '\\\\';
default:
$hex = dechex( ord( $match_result[0] ) );
return "\\x{$hex}";
}
},
$mapping
);
$comment_line .= " {$prefix}{$token}[{$mapping}]";
$data_line .= "\\x{$token_digits}{$token}\\x{$mapping_digits}{$mapping}";
}
$comment_line .= ".\n";
$data_line .= "\",\n";
$output .= $comment_line;
$output .= $data_line;
}
$output .= "{$i2}),\n";
$small_words = array();
$small_length = strlen( $this->small_words );
$at = 0;
while ( $at < $small_length ) {
$small_words[] = substr( $this->small_words, $at, $this->key_length + 1 );
$at += $this->key_length + 1;
}
$small_text = str_replace( "\x00", '\x00', implode( '', $small_words ) );
$output .= "{$i2}\"small_words\" => \"{$small_text}\",\n";
$output .= "{$i2}\"small_mappings\" => array(\n";
foreach ( $this->small_mappings as $mapping ) {
$output .= "{$i3}\"{$mapping}\",\n";
}
$output .= "{$i2})\n";
$output .= "{$i1})\n";
$output .= ')';
return $output;
}
/**
* Compares two strings, returning the longest, or whichever
* is first alphabetically if they are the same length.
*
* This is an important sort when building the token map because
* it should not form a match on a substring of a longer potential
* match. For example, it should not detect `Cap` when matching
* against the string `CapitalDifferentialD`.
*
* @since 6.6.0
*
* @param string $a First string to compare.
* @param string $b Second string to compare.
* @return int -1 or lower if `$a` is less than `$b`; 1 or greater if `$a` is greater than `$b`, and 0 if they are equal.
*/
private static function longest_first_then_alphabetical( string $a, string $b ): int {
if ( $a === $b ) {
return 0;
}
$length_a = strlen( $a );
$length_b = strlen( $b );
// Longer strings are less-than for comparison's sake.
if ( $length_a !== $length_b ) {
return $length_b - $length_a;
}
return strcmp( $a, $b );
}
}
في عصر اصبحت تتداخل فيه الطفولة مع التكنولوجيا بشكل غير مسبوق، لم يعد الكذب مجرّد سلوك مرفوض، بل تحول لدى بعض الأطفال إلى وسيلة مبررة للوصول إلى أهدافهم الالكترونية. فمع الانتشار الواسع للألعاب الإلكترونية ومواقع التواصل، اصبح من الشائع أن يتقمص الطفل شخصية وهمية، أو يستخدم حسابًا مزيفًا، أو يزود عمره لتجاوز شروط الاستخدام، هذه السلوكيات التي قد تبدو بسيطة أو عابرة، تحمل في داخلها تغيّراً عميقًا في مفاهيم الصدق والأخلاق لدى الاطفال.
هل أصبحت الهوية المزيفة لعبة بريئة أم بداية لانحراف القيم؟
أوضحت كنوز أشرف، أخصائية اجتماعية، أن العديد من الألعاب الحديثة، وخاصة ألعاب الفيديو، لم تعد مجرد وسيلة للترفيه، بل أصبحت تُسهم بشكل مباشر في غرس سلوكيات سلبية لدى الأطفال والمراهقين، مثل الكذب والعنف. وتابعت، أن الهوية المزيفة لم تعد تُستخدم كلعبة بريئة، بل تحولت إلى وسيلة قد تترك أثرًا عميقًا على التكوين الأخلاقي والنفسي للأطفال، مما يستدعي الانتباه لتأثير هذه الألعاب على شخصياتهم وقيمهم، ففي العديد من الألعاب الشهيرة مثل ببجي وفري فاير، يُدفع اللاعب إلى تقمص شخصيات عدوانية، واستخدام الحيلة والخداع للفوز، مما قد ينعكس على سلوكياتهم في الحياة الواقعية.
تابعت، ورغم أن البعض يرى فيها وسيلة للترفيه أو تنمية المهارات، إلا أن الاستخدام غير الواعي وغياب الرقابة الأبوية يحوّلها إلى خطر حقيقي يهدد منظومة القيم والسلوك.
اما بالنسبة للكذب الإلكتروني فقد بينت أشرف، أنه اصبح أسهل بكثير من الكذب في الواقع خاصة بالنسبة للأطفال، الذين يجدون في العالم الالكتروني مساحة مفتوحة للتلاعب بالحقائق دون مواجهة عواقب مباشرة،
يبرر الأطفال هذا النوع من الكذب غالبًا برغبتهم في الوصول إلى هدف معين، لا تسمح لهم أعمارهم الحقيقية باكتشافه. فمعظم الألعاب الإلكترونية، يوجد بها سياسات عمرية محددة، تفرض قيودًا على الفئات الأصغر سنًا. ونتيجة لذلك، يلجأ كثير من الأطفال إلى تغيير أعمارهم وتقديم معلومات غير صحيحة من أجل تجاوز هذه القيود والدخول إلى عالم اللعبة، موضحه أنه في نظرهم، هذا الخداع لا يُعد كذبًا حقيقيًا، بل مجرد وسيلة لتحقيق غاية ترفيهية. غير أن هذا السلوك، رغم بساطته في الظاهر، يعكس بداية اتجاه نحو تبرير الكذب، مما يستدعي من الاسرة المربية أن توعي الأطفال بخطورة الأمر.
واتفق معها في الرأي هشام عبدالعال أستاذ الحاسب الآلي، علي أن الكذب الإلكتروني أسهل غالبًا لأنه يفتقر إلى التفاعل المباشر، مما يقلل الشعور بالذنب أو الخوف من العقاب الفوري. الأطفال قد يبررونه بأنه مجرد لعبة أو شيء لا يراه أحد، فهم لا يشعرون بنفس الوزن الأخلاقي للكذب عندما يكون خلف شاشة
أضاف عبد العال، التكنولوجيا قد تتيح للأطفال مساحة لتجربة الكذب دون عواقب مباشرة، خصوصًا في البيئات الرقمية حيث تقل الرقابة، وتغيب المواجهة وجهًا لوجه. فمثلًا: يمكن للطفل أن يُنشئ حسابًا باسم مستعار أو عمر غير حقيقي.
تأثير ألعاب الفيديو ومواقع التواصل على إدراك الطفل للصدق والقيم
و من جانبها أكدت أشرف، أن ألعاب الفيديو ومواقع التواصل الاجتماعي تنعكس بشكل مباشر على إدراك الطفل للصدق، وفهمه لهويته، وتشكُّل منظومة القيم لديه. فالطفل الذي يدخل إلى هذا العالم الرقمي، غالبًا ما يجد نفسه داخل بيئة غير مألوفة، بل مجتمع مظلم، لا يملك أدوات كافية لفهمه أو التفاعل معه بوعي.
اضافت أشرف، أنه عبر مواقع التواصل، يتعرض الأطفال يوميًا لألفاظ وسلوكيات غير لائقة، تبدأ بالكذب وتمتد إلى العنف والتنمر، خاصة التنمر الإلكتروني الذي اصبح ظاهرة منتشرة.
أما ألعاب الفيديو تابعت أشرف، فهي لا تقل خطورة، إذ تقدم محتوى يحتوي علي العدوانية ويكافئ الخداع لتحقيق الفوز. هذه التجارب المتكررة ترسخ مفاهيم مشوشة لدى الطفل، تجعل من الكذب وسيلة مقبولة، ومن التنمر سلوك طبيعي، مما يؤدي إلى خلل واضح في البناء القيمي لسلوك شخصيه الطفل.
العالم الرقمي أصبح جزءًا من حياة الأطفال اليومية، ويؤثر في سلوكهم وقيمهم. لذلك، من الضروري تعليمهم أخلاقيات الإنترنت كما نعلمهم الصدق في الواقع، مع وجود سياسات واضحة ورقابة أسرية صارمة تحميهم من الكذب، التنمر، والمحتوى الضار.
