PHP Generics Already Exist: They're Just Hidden in PHPDoc

Every Laravel dev has already written PHP generics. We just hid them inside @template and Collection<…> comments and pretended it didn't count. A new RFC wants to make them real syntax.

I grepped a Laravel project I work on and found 143 generic-PHPDoc annotations and zero of my own @template. Here's the quick theory, why PHP has fought generics for a decade, and what the Bound-Erased Generic Types RFC actually changes.

What's Inside

• A 30-second refresh: what a generic is (Box<T>, parametric polymorphism) and where the idea came from
• Reified vs erased generics: the difference that decides everything
• Why PHP keeps stalling: expensive runtime checks, ~6 analyzers with no shared spec, RFCs since 2014
• The new native syntax: bounds, defaults, variance, optional turbofish ::<…>
• A real audit: 143 generic annotations, 0 own @template, all consumed via doc blocks
• Where the RFC stands (Under Discussion, v0.22) and why I want it shipped in 2026

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PHP Generics Already Exist: They're Just Hidden in PHPDoc