fix(php): resolve PHP 8.4/8.5 deprecations

[austinderrick]

Summary

Audited the codebase for PHP 8.4 and PHP 8.5 deprecations by running php84 -l on every PHP file under modules/ and plugins/ (1,075 files) and grepping for documented deprecation patterns. All fixes use the ?Type syntax available since PHP 7.1 and remain compatible with the project's php >=8.1 floor.

PHP 8.4 — implicit nullable parameters

PHP 8.4 deprecates parameters with a default of null that don't explicitly declare ?Type. Fixed in:

File	Method
modules/backend/traits/PreferenceMaker.php:45	getUserPreference(?string $key = null, …)
modules/backend/behaviors/ListController.php:425,442,455	listRefresh, listGetWidget, listGetConfig
modules/backend/widgets/MediaManager.php:1195,1319	getThumbnailParams, deduplicatePath
modules/system/classes/FileManifest.php:57	__construct(?string $root = null, ?array $modules = null)
modules/system/classes/SourceManifest.php:46	__construct(?string $source = null, ?string $forks = null, …)
modules/system/classes/MarkupManager.php:55	makeBaseTwigEnvironment(?LoaderInterface $loader = null, …)
modules/system/tests/fixtures/plugins/winter/tester/components/Categories.php:8	__construct(?CodeBase $cmsObject = null, …)
modules/system/tests/fixtures/plugins/winter/tester/components/Comments.php:11	__construct(?CodeBase $cmsObject = null, …, ?Users $users = null)
modules/cms/classes/Controller.php:1589	setComponentContext(?ComponentBase $component = null)
modules/cms/classes/ComponentBase.php:85	__construct(?CodeBase $cmsObject = null, …)
modules/cms/classes/CmsException.php:45	__construct(…, ?Throwable $previous = null)
modules/cms/classes/Page.php (see 8.5 section)	—
modules/cms/models/ThemeExport.php:62	save(?array $options = null, …)
modules/cms/models/ThemeImport.php:67	save(?array $options = null, …)
modules/cms/controllers/ThemeOptions.php:105	getDirName(?string $dirName = null)
modules/cms/twig/Extension.php:131,139,199	assetsFunction, placeholderFunction, displayBlock

PHP 8.4 — optional-before-required parameter

modules/system/console/PluginRollback.php:79: suggestVersionValues(string $value = null, array $allInput) had two deprecations stacked — implicit nullable type and optional parameter before a required one (deprecated since PHP 8.0). The PHP 8.4 migration guide's recommended fix is to drop the default and keep the nullable type. Laravel's Console always invokes suggestValues with both arguments, so the default was never needed:

-public function suggestVersionValues(string $value = null, array $allInput): array
+public function suggestVersionValues(?string $value, array $allInput): array

PHP 8.5 — null array offset

modules/cms/classes/Page.php:86 used $result[null] = Lang::get('cms::lang.page.no_layout'). PHP 8.5 deprecates null as an array offset; PHP already coerced it to '' at runtime, so the behavior is identical:

-$result[null] = Lang::get('cms::lang.page.no_layout');
+$result[''] = Lang::get('cms::lang.page.no_layout');

Docblock hygiene

Also updated @method annotations on the Backend and Cms facades to match the new nullable syntax for clarity (no runtime impact):

• modules/backend/facades/Backend.php:7-12
• modules/cms/facades/Cms.php:6

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Refactor
  • Improved type declarations across backend, CMS, and system framework modules. Multiple method signatures now explicitly declare nullable parameter types where previously they defaulted to null, enabling enhanced IDE autocomplete, more accurate static type analysis, and clearer API contracts for developers.

[coderabbitai]

Caution

Review failed

The pull request is closed.

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro

Run ID: 274896c5-c23b-4972-8566-a1f3f5c503f5

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 267eeed and ebd57ee.

📒 Files selected for processing (19)

• modules/backend/behaviors/ListController.php
• modules/backend/facades/Backend.php
• modules/backend/traits/PreferenceMaker.php
• modules/backend/widgets/MediaManager.php
• modules/cms/classes/CmsException.php
• modules/cms/classes/ComponentBase.php
• modules/cms/classes/Controller.php
• modules/cms/classes/Page.php
• modules/cms/controllers/ThemeOptions.php
• modules/cms/facades/Cms.php
• modules/cms/models/ThemeExport.php
• modules/cms/models/ThemeImport.php
• modules/cms/twig/Extension.php
• modules/system/classes/FileManifest.php
• modules/system/classes/MarkupManager.php
• modules/system/classes/SourceManifest.php
• modules/system/console/PluginRollback.php
• modules/system/tests/fixtures/plugins/winter/tester/components/Categories.php
• modules/system/tests/fixtures/plugins/winter/tester/components/Comments.php

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Walkthrough

This pull request adds explicit nullable type hints (?type) to method parameters across the Backend, CMS, and System modules. Each change aligns the method signature with an existing default value of null or corrects a type declaration mismatch where the parameter was already being passed or received as null. The changes affect constructors, public methods, protected methods, and PHPDoc annotations—no runtime behavior or logic is altered.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 2 (Simple) | ⏱️ ~12 minutes

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests

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