What is the name of the ... operator used in PHP 5.6?

Question

From the PHP 5.6 we now have the possibility to invoke or declare a function, stating that the arguments are infinite, through the ....

Example:

function add(... $arguments)
{
    return array_sum($arguments);
}

add(1, 2, 3); // imprime: 6

Example 2:

print_r(...[$object, false]);
// é equivalente a:
print_r($object, false);

I asked a question related to variadic functions where the advantages of its use are explained.

But I don’t know the name of this operator used in variadic funcion, the one about the operator ....

I usually speak reluctantly. I don’t know if I’m right.

What is the correct name of this operator?

Answer 1

Splat (or, Scatter, or Spread).

It is an operator to indicate that its function can have any number of parameters. This name is specific to PHP. In other languages, the name changes.

If your function has splat in the statement and has more than one argument, the splat must necessarily be the last argument.

Answer 2

This type of parameter is based on a similar type that has existed in C++ for a long time.

The name of this type of parameter in C++ is even variadic arguments: http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/variadic_arguments

Not even microsoft translates the name variadic, so the term is even used like this: https://msdn.microsoft.com/pt-br/library/dn439779.aspx